Parasol Protectorate Fanfiction Book: VICTIMLESS
by Neoraichu
Summary: After the end of the fifth book, Alexia and Conall receive mysterious visitors from the land of India. What makes the supernaturals so interested in Alexia, and the connection to her father? Is there a new threat to Alexia or someone close to her?
1. Chapter 1

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Rajani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER ONE

in which Lady Alexia Maccon receives travelers from India

"Wife!" grumbled Lord Conall Maccon, "We've been about the maypole twice this night. Isn't it time for all decent people to sleep? It's nearly dawn, woman!"

Yes, even as a mortal, certain things were not easily shifted from his active days as an Alpha werewolf. He tended to sleep during the day just as he had before. Lady Alexia Maccon had to keep in step with his schedule to keep their marriage as yet functional, although she was known to gallivant about in the day time for a few more hours of the day then her husband.

"Very well," she conceded, "I suppose you can rest, Husband."

"You would think after your first pregnancy, you'd never want to have intimate relations with me ever again."

"Then perhaps you don't know me as well as you think," she replied with a wink. Yes, it was something she wouldn't have done but a year ago, but times eventually change from 1876 to 1877, in the sixth month of the rule of Empress Victoria over the lands of Egypt. She was still called Queen Victoria back in the home islands, but someone must have decided that Empress Victoria had a better ring to it.

Once granted 'permission', he seemed to be deeply asleep before Alexia could formulate another sentence. He slept like a log during the day. She still liked to gaze upon his large and muscular frame which had not lost any vitality by living mortal. Still, she truly wished he would exercise a bit more control over his unruly beard, in which gray was creeping in by strands and streaks.

Alexia sat up and pulled down the white Muslin sheets from the lower part of her legs before swinging them over the side of the bed. Another of Conall's continued habits was to have them both naked as jaybirds during their moments of intimacy. He was good at casting her night clothing far across the room, as if he wanted to make it a challenge for his wife to dress herself once more.

She missed having a butler to tend to her needs. Conall was not nearly as good at dressing as he was at undressing. But still it hurt her to think that all the time she was under the care of Floote, he was more loyal to the memory of her father than he was to her. In the end, he turned out to be a stone cold killer who would most likely never pay for his crimes. Yet he saved Conall's life after Floote's own minions shot him with a high powered rifle while floating over the heart of the God-Breaker Plague Zone. It was just something she didn't like to dwell upon, so she did her best to cast those thoughts from her mind.

So Alexia was just a little distressed when she heard a knock at the front door. She was not expecting company. Could Genevieve have some sort of crisis she simply had to attend to? She could either grab one of Conall's oversized cloaks, or wrap herself in one of the Muslin sheets. Given her options, she grabbed the cloak and threw it around herself. She then hurried to the front door.

Throwing open the front door, she said, "Genevieve, what is the meaning of..."

But it was not Miss Lefoux at the front door. It was two other women. They both wore dark blue thobes complete with the facial veil. One was markedly taller than the other, almost as tall as Conall. One of the things she learned about the local women was if they didn't wear their hattahs about their heads, they were unmarried women.

"Excuse me," said the smaller woman in nearly perfect English, "Do I have the please of speaking to Alexia Tarabotti?"

"I was Alexia Tarabotti before I was married," she replied evenly, "but now I am Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon."

"Please forgive my inaccuracies," she said, "I was not informed of your marriage."

"It's well know around here," replied Alexia.

"Therein lies the problem," she replied, "We are not locals. My half-sister and I have come from the distant land of India to see you."

"You came all the way from India just to see me?"

"We originally thought we would have to travel all the way to London," came the response, "but we fortunately decided to take a route through the Indian Ocean, Sea of Reeds, and the Land of Egypt on our way. It was most fortunate that we found out you were living here instead."

"You know my name, but I do not know yours."

"Forgive me. I am called Indrani, and this is my half-sister Rajani."

"She doesn't say much, does she?"

"She... never speaks. I speak for her."

"How odd. You understand what she wants you to say in her stead?"

"Yes, we have spent all of our lives together. I understand her better than anyone. Certainly better than Alesandro Tarabotti ever did."

"What does my father have to do with any of this?" asked Alexia, now truly curious.

"That man you call father is also the father of Rajani."

"He had a child in INDIA?"

"Yes, by the woman who is both of our mothers: Padmavati."

"Floote never mentioned it."

"Ah, the manservant. My uncle told me once that he carried himself as a man of secrets. It seems likely that he did not consider it important to tell you. I assume your father abandoned you as he did with my mother, claiming that he would be repelled by his child beyond reason?"

"He did leave, but he also died soon after I was born."

"Now that we have introduced ourselves, perhaps we could trouble you to come in out of the rising sunlight?"

"Are you supernatural?" asked Alexia bluntly.

"That is what you Westerners call us."

"Are you vampire or werewolf?"

"Does the distinction matter so much to you?"

"Well, yes. I haven't always got along with vampires. Not as well as werewolves."

"Then consider me werewolf."

She wondered if she meant to phrase it that way. It almost sounded like one of Floote's non-answer answers. But the sun was coming up quickly, so she said, "Please do come in. My husband is asleep, so please try not to make to much noise."

As soon as she said it, she wondered if she had just made a mistake. She just telegraphed her vulnerability to someone she couldn't necessarily trust to be friendly. But the two women had already made their way past her into the darkened interior of the house. Out of habit and the need to sleep during the day, this house was just as efficient at shutting out the sun as Lord Akeldama's mansion back in London, or their old house next door.

Once the door was shut, Indrani was the first to shuck off her throbe, the veil and the hakkah. She wore a paisley stole and a long skirt underneath. With the clothing beneath that, Alexia deduced that there was easily a total of four, five or even six layers of clothing when she arrived at her doorstep. Hoever, there was skin showing, and Alexia could see that he skin was a bit more brown than her own skin, which could be more accurately described as olive since she began living in Egypt and getting somewhat more sun than her formerly werewolf husband. She also bore a red mark on her forehead, which Alexia had heard of, but never personally seen.

"What is that mark on your forehead?" she asked.

"That is the mark of a shrine maiden," replied Indrani, "and while I am no longer a practicing shrine maiden, I still have the right to bear the mark."

"And your half-sister?"

"She was not destined to be a shrine maiden."

"And is she planning to stay like that?" said Alexia gesturing in Rajani's direction.

"She... is shy... about showing certain things... to strangers..." said Indrani awkwardly.

"She's still my half-sister as well, isn't she?"

Indrani looked towards Rajani, and then looked back to Alexia to reply, "Very well, but please do not be shocked by what you are about to see."

"Why should I..." She stopped cold in her tracks as Rajani dropped her throbe. It was hard to tell which shocking feature to fix on first. Perhaps it was the blue skin, or perhaps it was the vampire-like fangs, or perhaps it was just the six arms, or perhaps it was the six great curved blades obviously plated in silver with elaborate wooden hand-guards. Each blade seemed better suited to be wielded with two hands.

"We're close to the God-Breaker Plague Zone," said Alexia incredibly, "She should be mortal like the rest of us."

"She cannot become something she never was. Rajani was born a Daeva, and she will always be a Daeva. She was named after the Daeva goddess Kali, the Killer of Time and Destroyer of Worlds."

"Padmavati wasn't mortal, was she?"

"No, she was what is called the Rakshasi."

"Rakshasi?" asked Alexia thinking hard about her father's books, "A mythical shape-shifting tiger?"

"By calling her mythical, I assume you don't believe they exist?"

"Well, the British Empire took over the Indian country with soldiers, werewolves, and vampires. There was no supernatural resistance as far as I know."

"Because the Rakshasa _allowed_ the British to take over. They were out of favor with the people, calling us cannibals and blood-thirsty monsters. There was no perceived need to protect them. It was simply better to melt into the countryside and let the British believe that the Rakshasa was folklore."

"I see," said Alexia with a nod, "So you aren't really a werewolf, are you?"

"In the interests of openness and honesty, I am a Rakshasi like my mother."

"I'd ask to see your tigress form if we weren't where we are."

"Do you not believe me?"

"I believe, but I am also curious to see your tiger form. I can't remember actually seeing a tiger in person before. Just a sketch from one of my Father's diaries."

Indrani simply smiled at Alexia.

"But still, I have never seen a supernatural that couldn't be made mortal by my touch or the plague. I didn't think such beings really existed. Even a 3,000 year old vampire was not immune to my touch."

"You can always learn something new."

"I suppose so."

Yet Alexia was too curious not to reach out and touch two of Rajani's hands. She was quite real. In that moment, she gazed into the red eyes of the Daeva. For a moment, Alexia felt as if those red eyes were staring right into the place her soul would be if she in fact had one.

"Oh dear," said Indrani, "It seems that my half-sister is smitten with your beauty."

"What?" asked Alexia as she shook her head and looked to Indrani. In her mind, the thought raced, 'Do I have yet another Genevieve on my hands?'

Then a few things happened at once. Rajani's middle pair of hands reached out to pull open Alexia's cloak. As the cloth was pulled open, Alexia cried, "Don't do that!" At the same time, Indrani said sternly, "Rajani, control yourself." It seemed nearly forever that the taller woman's eyes drank in the view of Alexia's naked body, yet it was at most a second before the cloak was closed again. Alexia defensively wrapped her arms about herself to make sure the cloak would remain closed, ensuring her modesty.

"That's for my husband to see!" scolded Alexia.

"I am very sorry for my half-sister's behavior," said Indrani, "I truly am. I can't even take her to a strange country to meet her other half-sister."

"Really!"

"What?" asked Indrani of Rajani, "We're raising our voices? What about the sleeping husband and the need to be quiet?"

"I really have to scream louder to wake him."

"I see," she replied.

"I haven't even allowed my long time friend Genevieve Lefoux to see me naked!"

"Ah, the French inventor woman we have heard of. The one that dresses as a man, or so I've heard."

"That's right," said Alexia slipping into the change of topic, "She does like manly garb. In fact, she usually smells like vanilla and grease." She wondered why she bothered to bring up that point at all.

Indrani looked at Rajani as if injured when she said, "Just because I know the Kama Sutra from cover to cover does not mean my intentions are any less honorable, my half-sister."

"Isn't that just a sex manual?" asked Alexia.

"It covers all manner of sexual interactions, including men and women sex, group sex, men on men sex, men on animal sex, women on women sex and women on animal sex, let alone things that men and women can do to themselves when they are alone and lonely."

"My goodness."

"It is not as if I had much experience in such worldly matters."

"Until I met Conall, I only understood sex through books as well. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Yes, but Rajani loves to tease me about such things. Honestly."

Alexia didn't particularly like the way Rajani stared at her, let alone the smug look she just shot at Indrani. "Believe me," she said, "I can scream more than loud enough to wake the dead, and when my huge naked husband charges in here like a wild bull, you will not like the results. I swear."

"No Rajani," said Indrani with a sigh, "That was not a challenge, just a threat."

"I mean he's a long skilled and formidable fighter. Nothing else."

Rajani smiled again in that disquieting sort of way, as if she too were a skilled and formidable fighter. It made Alexia secretly worry about the six-armed blue-skinned and fanged woman.

"No Rajani," said Indrani with another sigh, "I am not going into the bedroom to peek. Honestly."

Alexia blinked as she looked between the two of them.

"It is more teasing, I assure you," said Indrani sheepishly, "You see a naked man by accident ONE time and I am branded for life. I swear."

If she didn't have the disposition of a preternatural, she might have giggled at that point. But she remained quiet, which seemed to impress at least Indrani.

"Perhaps you can finally tell me what brings you all the way out here," suggested Alexia.

"It most involves Alesandro Tarabotti and his granddaughter. I believe she shall soon be in peril."

"She's living in London with a powerful vampire guardian, so please explain yourself."

"I shall do just that."

…

Not too far away, Genevieve Lefoux was working on yet another of her mechanical contrivances. It was necessary to make a defensive system for her beloved Alexia and Conall. He was no longer a werewolf, and could not depend on his supernatural powers to protect themselves, and now that they were close to the God-Breaker Plague Zone, her preternatural powers were all but useless against foes who would never be a supernatural.

She never could shake the feeling, irrational as it might have been, that they had not heard the last of Floote and his minions, who nearly killed Conall in spite of the fact it was Floote himself who save Alexia's dear husband from his otherwise likely fatal shot wound and fall from the balloon. This contrivance was not an octopus, and lacked her usual taste in exotic weapons such as flamethrowers and spear-tipped tentacles.

It was more of a wide footed mechanical spider well suited to desert running, and it was armed with something more practical as a weapon: A one inch Gatling Cannon imported right from America. She made a few improvements, of course, to make the gun fire faster and allow the ammo to feed into the gun more efficiently.

On the other hand, she did think about adding a backwards facing flamethrower in order to discourage pursuit of the vehicle. Even in Egypt, it was hard to make things fireproof, after all. She just had to put the fuel tank for the weapon under the armor, or perhaps just use a common fuel tank to drive the vehicle as well as fuel the flamethrower. That meant an even larger fuel tank as opposed to two smaller tanks, so it was hard to tell what would work better in the long run.

She wondered if it was too late to go see Alexia and take advantage of her ever practical thinking. Her level head was something she always admired about Alexia, not to mention her gorgeous looks. Genevieve paused to shake her head. She really had to stop thinking about Alexia that way. Her naked body was something she would most likely never see for herself. It made her just a little jealous of Conall, who got to see her naked whenever he wished.

Suddenly self-conscious, she tugged at the collar of her greasy vanilla scented jumpsuit. It felt as if she suffered a slight impairment in her breathing, for some reason. It made her just a bit more sweaty and feeling just a bit more hot under the collar.

In vain, she tried to leave her thoughts of Alexia's bodily assets by throwing herself back into her current project. While she wasn't normally a night creature like Conall, she was prone to working late when she was 'sinking her teeth into a hot project' as it were. It probably was too late to run over to Alexia's new house before the two of them turned in for the day. She would probably stop before too long to take a four hour nap or so herself.

...

Speaking of the child formerly known as Prudence, at least as far as she and Akaldama were concerned, it was in fact two hours earlier, and therefore the sun was further away from even the false sunrise. With Alexia so far away, it greatly saddened the elder vampire that only the drones could handle her until the glow of the sun was appearing over the horizon. While she was another year older, she hadn't quite acquired the self control that her 'Dama would have liked.

While the incidents of the infant running outside with vampire-like powers had been reduced over the last year, it still happened too often for Akaldama's tastes. He had to keep an inordinate number of dresses around for her just in case someone from the London (formerly Woolsey) Pack came by to visit. He was too old and set in his ways to truly let go of his feeling for Biffy, let alone Professor Lyall who had run off to be Beta for the Scotland Pack of Lady Kingair.

But that was not important right now. It was close to the time of utter terror. The horror almost beyond imagining: Bathing Prudence Alexia Alesandro Terabotti before putting her to bed. Like him, Prudence was inclined to sleep during the day like her 'Dama. It took every drone Akaldama had plus massive damage control still to make this thing happen... still. Personally, Akaldama would rather swarm again then face this daunting task, and yet he had to fulfill his parental duties regardless of his personal risks. Someone had to supervise and make sure every order was filled to the letter, after all.

On the other hand, he was a clever vampire. He made sure that ALL of the candy in his house was kept in the luxurious bathing room. Every one of his drones implicitly understood that not a morsel of candy was ever to be removed from that room, let alone be taken out by Prudence. It was truly the only way to get her into the room, as she was becoming too clever to fall for just about any other ruse that the vampire could reasonably think of. He allowed her in to eat candy just enough for her to be unsure about whether its bath time or not. He even had a dozen or so drones in there to get a little candy of their own to complete the deception.

"My little dandelion fluff," he said as innocently as he could possibly manage, "you've been such a good little poppet tonight. Come in for your good girl candy, wouldn't you?"

"'Dama candy!" she squealed with delight, "'Dama candy!"

"Just go in there with the rest of the good little drones, won't you?"

"Yes, 'Dama," she said excitedly. He was relieved she went in without saying, 'Dama, no wet.' It was a sign she wasn't expecting a bath this time.

He closed the door and bolted behind as he always did, half expecting the Hundred Years War to break out yet again. Prudence could never quite understand why 'Dama was not allowed to have Candy with her, as if she didn't believe his claims he was simply too old for such indulgences. He waited and waited, but there was no screams. No histrionics worthy of Ivy Tunstel. No sounds of open warfare. Could she have become that clever? Is she running and hiding without making a sound?

Slowly he unlocked the door and dared to peek in. In an event that nearly floored the vampire on the spot, he saw the Prudence was in fact in the bath and not raising a fuss. She even seemed to be quite happy about the whole things. It seemed that no one had to fear for the life of their cravat or their fine outfits. It just wasn't there style to 'dress down' even to get Prudence in the bath, after all. They did concede to the practicality of wearing gloves with moderate water-proofing for additional safety to themselves and their wardrobes. For a second, he wondered if it was really Prudence, or she had been replaced with a changeling during the previous day. It couldn't be a changeling, as they were... well... hideous creatures.

"My lord," said Boots, "I think Prudence has finally learned the value of exchanging vast amounts of candy for a care free bath. Or perhaps she's finally outgrown her repulsion to submersion in water. We can't be sure."

"Apparently miracles still do happen," sighed Akaldama, "but I think I'll still wait out here just to be on the safe side."

"Of course, my lord."


	2. Chapter 2

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Rajani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER TWO

in which attackers swarm across the sands

"So tell me more about this threat to my daughter in London," said Alexia evenly. She glanced in the direction of Ravani even though she was addressing Indrani, as she was still uncomfortable with the look she was getting from the red-eyed Daeva. She had sat herself down in her husband's comfy Victorian Parlor Chair. It was custom made for her husband's frame, which made her look almost child-like when she sat in the embroidered red silk damask seat. She sat with her arms wrapped about her torso as if she feared another attempt by Rajani to look at her naked form beneath.

"Yes," said Indrani, who had sequestered herself into the matching sofa on the right hand side. She had removed her footwear so she could pull her legs up, so that she was leaning in the corner resting on her legs that were folded to the side. "There is a very old cult of assassins that has gained an interest in your daughter. We feel that they intend to recruit your daughter as one of their assassins, or kill her if she can not be recruited." Rajani was standing behind her sister, resting four of her six arms over the back of the sofa as she listened to the conversation.

"Does this group have a name?"

"They were originally called the Thuggee."

"Aren't they extinct?" asked Alexia, "The 'Thuggee and Dacoity Department' eliminated them in the 1830's and 1840's, didn't they?"

"Not entirely," replied Indrani, "The remaining members of the cult fled to areas... not easily accessed by the British Authorities. They felt if they remained underground for a few decades, they could return in a new form. The surviving leaders felt that if they could recruit werewolves and vampires to their cause, they could return to their former glory."

"And what about the Rakshasa? Are they part of the Thuggee?"

"No," sniffed Indrani with a hint of indignation to her voice, "The Rakshasa would never belong to such a lowly organization of mortals. Our kind never liked the Thuggee. We believe that they... corrupted the worship of Kali in order to justify their murderous ways."

"Then how do you know what they are up to when the British Government does not?"

"Our people have maintained deeply planted informants among the Thuggee for hundreds of years. How do you think the 'Thuggee and Dacoity Department' was able to efficiently eliminate the Thuggee in the first place? Our mortal followers used the British Government of India to our own goals and ends. It was funny that William Bentinck thought he did it all by himself and a hand full of British agents."

"So how did they find out about Prudence?"

"I assume that is the daughter in question then?" asked Indrani, to which Alexia nodded. "How they came upon this information remains unknown to us, although your pregnancy with a werewolf had spread all around the supernatural world. We even heard of the various attempts by various vampires to... neutralize you."

"Have they tried to recruit Rajani?"

"No, a Daeva is too hard to hide to be an effective assassin. They have, in fact, attempted to kill her on more than one occasion, as they feel she is an insult against the Thuggee Cult of Kali."

Judging by Rajani's sudden smile, Alexia felt that she was more than adept at dealing with such attackers. She probably even liked it.

"Your daughter, on the other hand," continued Indrani, "can be easily passed through most security measures. She doesn't register as supernatural until she touches another supernatural."

"You know about that?"

"We are informed of many many things."

"Could one of you told the Thuggee about Prudence?"

"There is no Rakshasa that has any sympathy to the Thuggee. We would never hand them such a powerful... assassin trainee."

"So what were you going to do with Prudence? Kill her to keep her away from the Thuggee?"

"While that may be efficient in the short term, our kind does not operate that way. We would operate as her bodyguards until she is old enough to manage her own affairs."

"I'm sure that Lord Akaldama is quite capable of guarding her himself. He has a vast intelligence network of his own."

"While this vampire is assuredly capable of dealing with threats from more conventional enemies, we feel he may not be ready to deal with the tactics and strategies of the Thuggee. It only takes a few seconds of vulnerability for the Thuggee to strike. They are quite adept at indoctrinating others into their murderous cult."

It was then that Rajani straightened up and looked towards the closed window.

"In fact," continued Indrani, "My sister thinks that the Thuggee have followed us here, and are even now massing to attack this house from the outside."

"Conall is sound asleep," said Alexia, "He'd never wake up fast enough to respond to an attack at this time of the day. I wish he brought some clavigers with him."

Ravani pulled out her six tulwars, holding them in a battle ready stance.

"Do not worry, Alexia," said Indrani, "We can take care of this little problem ourselves."

"Do you have a weapon?"

"My bow and arrows are concealed near the door. While my sister is quite protective of her special tulwars, I felt I would appear less threatening if I left my bow and arrows outside."

"I suppose that would make sense."

Indrani got up and went over to the door. She put her hand on the door handle as she exchanged glances with Rajani. "Yes," she said, "You distract the enemy by charging into their line, and I shall retrieve my bow and arrows to support you."

Alexia arose from her chair as she said, "and I shall fetch Ethel to support you as well."

"Ethel?"

"It's the pet name I use to refer to my Sundowner Pistol."

"Ah, I see. You need not waste the expensive ammo on Thuggee. Even if they brought their vampire or werewolf agents with them, they can still be slain with conventional bullets here."

"I am aware of that, thank you."

"I am sure that you are," said Alexia as she went back towards the bedroom.

Indrani opened the door as Rajani rushed forward.

From the outside, Alexia could hear someone scream, "काफिरों के लिए मौत!"

"Infidels?" asked Indrani incredulously, "How dare you take the sacred name of Kali in vain!" She slipped out the door behind her sister.

Alexia went into the bedroom as she searched for where she had hidden Ethel. It had been months since she had to use her firearm. The gun and its assorted bullets had been packed away into a teak box with gold hinges and framing, and a gilded key lock in the front. Both the key and the gun box were kept in separate drawers of Conall's work desk.

She glanced toward the blue Victorian bed where she could see Conall in a slight part in the curtains about the bed, and wondered if she should even try to awaken him. But then she noticed all of the screaming and hollering outside, and wondered if that wouldn't do the job, would anything? Even if she couldn't understand a word of Hindi, she was quite aware of the pain and anger in the voices of both sides.

Opening the drawer, she removed the box containing the revolver. She then went to the smaller drawer on the other side, and removed the key for the box. Unlocking the box, she pulled the revolver, opened the cylinder, and began placing the lead bullet shells into it from the place in the box separated from the special Sundowner ammunition. She made sure that all six bullets were seated properly before snapping the cylinder closed again.

It was then that she heard noises back in the front room. Returning there, she was confronted with a stranger who had pushed their way into the apparently unlocked door. Judging by the bared scimitar in his hand, he was not there for tea and biscuits.

Alexia raised her revolver, holding it in both hands as she fired into his chest. That got his attention. When he turned and advanced at her, she shot him in the chest again. That just made him angrier. The third shot hit him in the chest, and she was sure she had good aim at where his heart was that time. He stumbled in his charge across the room, tripping over the foot stool along the way.

She sidestepped at the last second to avoid the scimitar, but his flailing hand grabbed her cloak on the way down. The clasp groaned and snapped as he pulled the cloak from her. As he hit the ground, she aimed the gun down at him and fired again clean through his spine just between the shoulders. In the grip of battle, she also fired the fifth and sixth shots into his back as well. The gun simply clicked a few times before she was calm enough to realize she had to go back and get more bullets.

As she rushed back into the bedroom, she heard Conall moan, "Woman! What is the meaning of this racket at this time of the day?"

"We're only under attack from Thuggee, husband," she yelled back dryly.

"Is that supposed to be a joke, Wife?"

"No dear, I'm dead serious. Well I'm serious, he's just dead." If she weren't preternatural, she might have been suspected of attempting humor.

She went to the box, reopened the cylinder to eject the spent shells, and loaded in fresh rounds when she realized that Conall was in fact standing next to her and looking over her shoulder. He felt his large hand on her shoulder as he said, "Could ya take a second ta explain all this ta me?"

"I'd love to," she replied, "but the enemy is still active and they need my gun."

"They?"

"Long story. It'll have to wait."

"Should I get my revolver?"

"I'm sure it would help, dear."

He reached up above the bed frame which supported the bed curtains and pulled down his own Sundowner revolver. Of course, his gun was already loaded and ready to go. He always kept it loaded and ready, even if she didn't care for it. It was an awkward reach for almost anyone besides Conall.

The two went back into the front room where they confronted Rajani looking over the dead man with her six tulwars down in a relaxed position. Conall raised his gun at her as Alexia pushed his arm aside, saying, "No Conall, she's on our side."

"What the heck is that, and how do you know it's on our side?"

"She's a Daeva from the distant land of India. She came here with her half sister to warn us about a threat to Prudence from the Thuggee Cult. Like I said, it's a long story."

"And why is she staring at you like that?" he asked.

"Her half sister said she was smitten with my beauty," she said as she suddenly realized that she in fact was quite naked yet again, and Rajani was looking at her with those hungry red eyes. She looked down at the cloak still clutched in the Thug's hand. "I forgot, I'm naked again!" She used her free arm to cover her breasts while she gun bearing hand went down to cover her nethers.

"I'm not complaining, woman."

"But this is something only you should see, husband."

"Well I think you're so beautiful, so why should you hide it? I'm not embarrassed about my nudity. Besides, you might just accidentally shoot yourself somewhere important like that."

"But you're a man," she replied, "It's different."

It was then that Indrani returned, and Alexia saw her bow for the first time. It was a strange composite bow made of steel, bone and bamboo like she had never seen before. She also had a quiver hanging from a strap around her shoulder and across her chest.

"Sorry I am late," she said, "but these solid steel arrows are hard to come by around here, and I cannot afford to lose any of them if I cannot help it."

She then saw Conall for the first time, and immediately looked in the opposite direction with something of a blush as far as Alexia could tell. "I'm sorry," she cried, "I didn't mean to peep!"

"You aren't peeping, woman," replied Conall with a chuckle, "I know you're there and I spend a lot of time like this." He indicated his own naked form. Then he turned to Rajani and asked, "Does she talk?"

"No," replied Alexia, "Indrani speaks for her half sister, Rajani. Rajani and I share Alesandro Tarabotti as a father, and Indrani and Rajani share Padmavati as a mother."

"That sounds complicated, wife," grumbled Conall.

"Considering I just met them for the first time, I suppose it is."

"Please cover yourselves," asked Indrani as she continued to look at the corner of the room away from Alexia and Conall, "It is not proper for an unmarried woman such as myself to see such things. Honestly."

"Oh very well," said Conall, "I shall respect your prudishness. Come, let us get dressed for our guests, wife." They turned to go back to the bedroom.

"No Rajani," said Indrani with a sigh, "I'm sure they aren't interested in a three-way."

"Who says I'm not?" asked Conall with a smirk.

"Conall!" shouted Alexia.

"I tease you, woman," he said quickly.

"You better be teasing," she snapped.

"My half sister can be so inappropriate. I swear," sighed Indrani.

"I know what you mean," replied Conall.

"She was talking about Rajani, husband, not me!" snapped Alexia.

"Oh..."

"We shall wait for you OUT HERE," said Indrani as she looked at Rajani. Rajani pouted.

"I wouldn't mind seeing them naked," said Conall in a low voice. Alexia could have sworn that Rajani smirked at that point.

"Conall!" shouted Alexia.

"Still teasing you, woman," he said quickly.

Alexia secretly wondered just how much her husband really was teasing her.


	3. Chapter 3

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Ravani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER THREE

in which preparations are made to leave Egypt

So Alexia and Conall retired to their room to dress for their guests. Lord Maccon slipped into his red smoking jacket and loose red silk pants while the Lady Maccon put on her bustle, a few layers of skirts, her teal house dress, her black house pumps, and a few other necessities. Alexia wondered why men could get away with so much fewer clothing layers than she had to put on, but then decided that her husband wasn't exactly the right person to question about such things. Lord Akaldama seemed to take dressing as seriously as she did, but he was well back in London taking care of Prudence, whom clearly did not like her own given name, but loved 'Dama's little nicknames for her.

Once dressed, the two returned to meet their guests, the rather prudish Indrani and her more open minded half-sister Rajani, who seemed to enjoy the sight of Alexia's naked beauty just a bit too much for Alexia's tastes. But still, when she looked at Rajani's baleful red eyes, she once again got that uncomfortable feeling that she looked right through her clothing and perhaps into the place her soul would have been if in fact she had one.

"We can not stay long," said Indrani in a matter-of-fact sort of way, "We must get to London as soon as possible to present ourselves to this... Lord Akaldama as guardians to the one known as Prudence."

"Which is why we are going with you," said Conall.

"You're willing to risk becoming an Alpha Werewolf again?" asked Alexia practically.

"I cannae risk the well being of my own daughter," replied Conall, "So we have to go back until we are satisfied that this threat to her has been dealt with. If the threat is as great as these two ladies imply, then our special skills and abilities will well be needed."

"Then we're all going to have to book passage on a ship from Alexandria," said Alexia, "Conall is certainly too delicate to go by airship, and neither of us are terribly welcome in Italy either."

"Wife," grumbled Conall, "Did you have to put it that way?"

"Yes, Husband," she replied simply, "Yes I did."

"Very well," said Indrani, "My half-sister and I would be most honored by your company. We both appreciate your assistance, and your willingness to put yourselves out for your own daughter." She glanced at Rajani before continuing, "Rajani feels there will soon be another attack from the Thuggee against this household. We should get going as soon as possible."

"Do you really think they would attack?" asked Alexia, "Would they destroy our house?"

"Yes," replied Indrani, "I believe they would."

"Don't fret, wife," answered Conall, "I know people who owe us favors. I'm sure that they would happily protect our house if that would balance the scales. They have gun and blades, and the knowledge of how to use them to deadly effect. I'm certain even the Thuggee would have a troublesome time trying to destroy our house with them on guard."

"Well, that does make me feel a little better about leaving the house, husband," said Alexia evenly, "so we should pack lightly and get ourselves to Alexandria as soon as possible."

"We're going to travel in the daylight?" asked Conall.

"I'm sure it won't kill any of us, will it?" asked Alexia back.

"We can do that," replied Indrani on behalf of herself and Rajani, "Do you have local clothing? It might be best to travel the desert looking as local as possible, in case the Thuggee have any people looking for us before we can get to Alexandria."

"Yes," replied Conall, "We've been here for about a year, and we have picked up a bit of the local color in our time. The local clothing is rather efficient in protecting the wearer from the rays of the desert sun, I must say."

"Even if the local clothing really is not to my tastes," sniffed Alexia.

"Well pack some other clothes, woman," he replied practically, "We can always change once we get on the boat, you know."

"Well we obviously cannot show up in London dressed like that, you know."

"We can worry about that once we actually get to London, woman."

"Very well," she answered, "I'll start packing our things immediately."

"Is there something we can do to assist?" asked Indrani.

"That's all right," replied Alexia, "I've done without a butler long enough to handle that much. Perhaps you could... do something about those bodies you left outside the house. I'm sure you could move them over the dune and... I don't know, bury them under the sand or something."

"I think the vultures will deal with the mess," replied Indrani, "but we can move the bodies for you. We can do that much."

"I'm sure those I'm going to hire to look after the house will take care of what you can't," replied Conall as he glanced through the heavy curtains into the yard, "You might not want to go outside until they're done, wife. It's kind of... gruesome... out there." He then muttered under his breath, "Like a war zone. It's been a while since I've seen such a mess. So many severed heads, arms and torsos."

Rajani simply smiled when Conall turned to look at her.

"Would you mind if I look at one of your weapons?" he asked her.

Rajani nodded as she pulled one of her silver-plated wooden basket-hilted tulwars and offered it up to Conall. He nodded appreciatively in turn as he looked over the deadly weapon.

"That would certainly explain the wounds," he said.

"She has five more just like it," added Indrani, "and she is rather skilled at using all of them at once. It is even so when her supernatural strength and speed are hampered by being in this zone."

"Well I certainly wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of this thing, would I? I take it that blade is silver-plated and the basket-hilt has some hidden spikes or blades for dealing with vampires as well?"

Rajani nodded.

"I can appreciate the craftsmanship that was used to make these blades." He handed the blade as he looked over to Indrani. "Now would you mind if I examine your bow?"

Indrani nodded as she handed the old steel, bone and bamboo composite bow over to him.

"While you admire their weapons," said Alexia, "I'm going to start packing."

"Very well, wife," he replied as he test drew the bow, "You know I'm not really any use with packing anyways."

"I know, my husband," she answered, "I know."

"This bow feels old, and yet it has been made to be used with supernatural strength."

"Yes," replied Indrani, "It has come down from my ancestors. I believe this bow is about 300 years old. We have taken most excellent care of it."

"I can tell," answered Conall, "and I take it that those steel arrows are also silver-plated?"

"Yes," she replied back, "They are."

"Are there many who bear weapons like these, and skills like yours?"

"The Rakshasa are a secretive race, not given to giving up our secrets lightly."

"I take it then that your people have not risen up against the British? I could see losing many werewolves and vampires to fighters like you."

"You flatter us for sure," she replied, "but we did decide to allow the British to conquer India. The people of India have taken to calling us cannibals and blood thirsty monsters. They call the ancient gods, the Daevas, as demon-gods now. We felt no need to help them. It was our choice to melt into the background and allow the British to think we are simply legend and folklore."

"It's lucky I'm retired from the military," answered Conall, "or I might have to care about such information."

"They're bound to stumble upon the truth one day anyway, so it may well be to our advantage to reveal ourselves to you on our terms. I believe there are some of us who want to become part of your Empire. We want to see your world, and partake of your way of life."

"I believe the British might be convinced to accept you, but the rest of Europe and America..." he said honestly, "I don't know... The British Empire is willing to accept vampires and werewolves, and I truly think another supernatural race won't be much of a stretch for Empress... I mean, Queen Victoria."

"We would like that very much."

"It's not like we don't know anyone in the government," replied Conall, "We even had meetings with the Queen herself. I think she would respect our opinions about you. The least we could do for the protective services that you're offering for Prudence against the Thuggee."

...

Genevieve awoke with a start. Her dreams were filled with fanciful visions about Alexia, and how she might appear if she were naked. She might come upon Alexia in the bathtub, in a field of flowers, or perhaps in bed without her husband about. There was even times she dreamed that Alexia was in her workshop as an assistant, or perhaps as some sort of experiment. Her breathing was quick, she was a bit sweatier than usual, and she felt warm in awkward places that she hated to think about otherwise.

Glancing at the clock, she could tell that she had been only asleep for about two hours or so, but she felt as if she had slept 5 or 6 hours. Science and progress waited for no one, and she had things to work on... for her Alexia, and her husband. Sitting up, she decided she needed a shower to face the day.

But she couldn't shake her dream, or her feelings for Alexia. Once she was in the cold shower, she cleansed herself with the latest shampoo and soap, and yet... with the warm water flowing over her, she used her hands to tease herself to orgasm. Leaning against the back wall, she panted, moaned and gasped as she caressed her own breasts and sex.

"Oh Alexia," she moaned, "Why can't I be there for you? Why must I love you when you can't trust me? Why must I want you so badly?"

She collapsed in the corner of the shower once the orgasm was concluded, and she cried for something she felt she could never have.

"No," she sobbed, "I have to stop feeling sorry for myself. I have a son back in England to think about. I have a job here to think about. I can help Alexia even if she can never return my feelings. Why can't I just have the feelings of a man?"

Standing back up, she finished washing, and stepped out to towel off. She put on her vanilla scent and her clean work jumpsuit. The spider-sand walker was ready for it's first test run, and she had to look decent when she showed it off to Alexia and Conall. She wanted them to feel that it was worth their attention, and good enough to protect them in a place where their normal supernatural gifts were nullified or rendered effectively useless by the God-Breaker Plaque Zone.

She made sure that the 1 inch Gatling cannon was properly loaded and linked to the engine in stead of the regular hand cranking system. It was important to make sure the gun had its full 90 degree turning arcs to the right and left of the vehicle's line of travel, let alone making sure it could be tilted down by 30 degrees, or up by as much as 60 degrees. The linkage allowed more efficient firing of the weapon that being cranked by hand alone regardless of which way the gun was facing at the time. Of course, there was an override crank in case the Gatling had to be fired while the engine was off, or perhaps too damaged to operate.

And then she made sure that the fuel tanks were topped and that it feed efficiently into the rear facing flame thrower.

Once she was satisfied that it was operational, and all safety precautions had been checked, she climbed into the pilot's chair and started the motor. She retracted the Gatling Cannon down into the 'head' of the spider-sand crawler, just above the engine. When the cowling was closed, it didn't look as if the vehicle were armed at all. Her first instinct was to make an octopus contrivance, but she knew deep down that Alexia... would have some problems with yet another octopus. The last one she built nearly killed Alexia, after all, in her quest for vengeance against the then Vampire Queen of London.

Of course, the Vampire Queen of London that she sought vengeance against swarmed, and she was now outside of London in the werewolves' old castle, and London vampires were in the hands of the new Vampire Queen of London, an Ivy Tunstel if she remembered correctly. The letters she got from her son indicated that he was treated well by the vampires there, and that he liked being there more than the now socially isolated vampires were. The thought of the vampire's unhappiness gave her cause to giggle, as much as the thought of being their drone again made her... unhappy.

So she pushed the throttle forward, and set out to cruise across the sand with the legs rising and falling in a leisurely groupings of four. With four legs down at any one time, the platform was incredibly stable. It easily navigated sand dunes, pits and rocks in her way.

When she crossed the last dune that stood in her way, she was quite surprised by what she saw. There was a pile of human remains being picked over by vultures and jackals. She pushed the throttle up to full speed as she raced towards the house of Alexia and Conall.

Again, she was surprised to see four people dressed as locals taking luggage from their house. Two of them were tall enough to be Conall, and yet one was dressed as an unmarried women, and the other as a desert dwelling man. When they saw her, the larger woman pulled six tulwars, and Genevieve was amazed that there could even be a six armed woman in the God-Breaker Plague Zone. The smaller woman unlimbered some sort of odd composite bow that she guessed was a mix of steel, bone and bamboo that she heard about from India that was supposed to be obsolete.

But the other smaller woman put her hands on their shoulders as if to stop them, and she called out in Alexia's voice, "Genevieve, is that you?"

She stopped the machine short just as she was about to deploy the Gatling Cannon, and she replied, "It's me, Alexia. What's going on? Why are you out in the middle of the day like this? Who's that with you?"

"I wish I had time to fully explain," replied Alexia, "but we need to get to Alexandria as soon as possible. You probably saw the pile of bodies from the people who tried to attack us?"

"Yes, I saw them."

"Well they were the Thuggee from India, and we have to get to London to save Prudence from the likes of them."

"You're not going back without me then," she said firmly, "This sand-spider walker I've built will get you all to Alexandria in plenty of time and style, I must say. But who are the other two?"

"The smaller one is Indrani, and the larger is her half-sister, Rajani. It seems that Rajani is also my half-sister by my father."

"That sounds complicated."

"Yes," replied Alexia, "yes it is. They came from India to warn us about the threat to Prudence, and I think you can tell by the dismembered bodies that they are adept at dealing with attackers."

"Well I have some firepower of my own," said Genevieve loudly, "and I'd feel better if I came along to protect you, Alexia."

"If you feel so strongly about it," answered Alexia, "then I will not say no to you. I'm sure that Conall feels the same way."

"Yes," he answered, "I do at that."

Genevieve gestured for all of them to climb aboard her desert sand-spider walker, and opened the back cargo section as all of the bags were stuffed inside.

"By the way," asked Conall, "What is this thing?"

"It's a sand-spider walker of my own design," she said proudly, "I made it to protect you out in the desert God-Breaker Plaque Zone because you're both effectively mortal now."

"Will it operate in London?" asked Alexia.

"Of course," replied Genevieve.

"Then we should ship it to London with us," replied Alexia, "I can't shake the feeling that it might come in handy."

"Let me pay for passage and shipping," she answered, "I've made some money on the side, as it were, and I can't think of a better way to use it than to help you, Alexia."

Genevieve then looked into the red eyes of the Daeva, and got the feeling she was somehow looking right into the place her soul was. It made her feel awkward, but Rajani just softly smiled back. She looked as if she suddenly knew some deep dark secret about the French woman and her feelings towards her beloved Alexia, but she just didn't know how or why she got that feeling.


	4. Chapter 4

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Ravani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER FOUR

in which Alexia and friends cruise to London

Alexia and her friends cruised across the desert sands in Genevieve's Sand-spider towards the port of Alexandria. The seating was not quite adequate for everyone, but Conall and Rajani stood for the entire journey so that the others could sit in comfort. Once they were clear of the God-Breaker Plague Zone, their various and potent supernatural abilities were no longer suppressed, except for Conall who was quite happy to hold Alexia's hand, and thus remained human. As such, the glaring sunlight of the Egyptian desert didn't seem to have as bad affect on him as it normally would have.

"A one-inch Gatling Cannon?" asked Alexia, "I've never seen such a thing. How is it?"

"It's quite efficient... for American technology," mused Genevieve, We're pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so would you like to see me fire a few rounds to show you?"

"If it's not an imposition," replied Alexia.

"Of course not," she answered, "I imagine Conall would like to see it as well."

"I'm sure we can spare a few moments for that," replied Conall, "I doubt the world will change in that short of a time."

"Then it appears to be settled," she stated as she began looking about for a suitable target. The region was somewhat rocky, so it wasn't much of a challenge to find a large one to shoot at. She stopped the sand-spider, and raised the cannon from under its protective and concealing doors on the top of the 'head'.

While everyone was impressed to some degree or another by the engine of destruction, no one openly showed it or openly commented about it. The French inventor was proud to rotate the gun on its pivot mount for everyone to see the modifications she had made. Gone was the awkward hand crank, replaced with a pair of handles with redundant triggers on them. An elegant mechanical link allowed the gun to be rotated by the engine no matter what direction it was rotated to face. She lifted a small cover in the middle of the hand grips and flipped it up to reveal a small level. Flipping the small lever, she aimed at the rock.

"What was that?" asked Conall, "The thing you just did now."

"I simply turned the gun's safety mechanism off," she replied confidently, "I don't want the gun to accidentally fire while running, and yet I wanted to keep the ammo feeding into the weapon while it's not in battle."

"How clever," commented Alexia.

A small flush of pride crossed Genevieve's cheeks as she glanced back at Alexia, and yet she couldn't help but notice the piercing gaze of the red-eyed Daeva. She seemed to be looking back into the inventor's soul, and then she softly smiled as she had before. It was somewhat disquieting to her, but it was hard to tell if it was more the look or more the smile that came afterwords.

She activated the link with yet another small lever, thus causing the multiple barrels to start spinning and then spin ever more quickly. The rotating barrels made a strange whine, which grew louder as the barrels rotated ever faster. A half a dozen rounds spat out in about two seconds, causing the rock to explode into fragments wherever the shells hit.

"Your improvements are remarkable," commented Alexia, causing Genevieve to become a little more flush with pride.

"You noticed?" she asked.

"Oh yes," interrupted Conall, "A hand cranked weapon couldn't possibly compete with a machine-driven cannon like yours."

"Oh," she said, the sudden change in demeanor almost palpable, "I just wanted to make the best defensive weapon I could for you and Alexia."

"Well that's terribly thoughtful of you," said Conall as he looked over the whole Gatling Cannon system and the modifications that were made to it. "I see you've modified the ammunition feeder. I'm sure it feeds more smoothly so the ammo keeps up with the faster rate of fire. It probably holds a fair deal more ammunition that usual as well."

Genevieve nodded.

"Well, I think we've all been suitably impressed," said Alexia, "I think it's time to move on then."

"The wife has a point," agreed Conall.

So the one-inch Gatling Cannon was retracted, and the covering and concealing panels once again closed over the entire mechanism. They continued on to the Nile River, renting a barge to cross over around Memphis (as most ferries were too small to accommodate Genevieve's mechanical contrivance), and then heading northwest along the road to Nitriae to avoid the worst of the Nile delta region. However, the path was longer because of a dogleg back to the northeast.

In the long run, however, the inventor felt it was a faster route than trying to go through Maser El Kahira, Tanrn, and Hermopolis, in spite of the fact that the road across the delta was a better road. It also seemed to make sense that the Thuggee would not expect them to take a somewhat longer route and not take the better road, so it felt like the route would be less likely to harbor ambush sites along the way.

They turned onto the coastal road as it met up with the northwestern shore of Lake Mareotis. It was nearly sunset by the time they had cruised into the great port of Alexandria. Under the influence of the English, the port had expanded greatly over the last dozen years or so. Shipping slowly shifted from the Old Harbor on the West Side to the New Harbor on the East Side, but still there was a fair number of ships on the Old Harbor Side, and the all seemed to almost speechlessly agree that they were less likely to ask questions about who or what they were shipping as well.

Once the night had fallen, almost everyone other than Alexia and Genevieve seemed to be more comfortable with their environment. Of course, even those two ladies did enjoy the gentle sea breeze which seemed to cool the city down as night fell. Except for the street lamps, and whatever light people bothered to carry around with them by hand or by coach, the city was pretty dark. Rather than risk delay by taking a room at an Inn, they all decided to go straight to the docks and attempt to book passage back to London even if they had to spend the night on the ship to do so.

It was not hard to locate a passenger ship sailing to London. While the newer breed of ships mainly used steam engines to propel them, the ship builders seemed reluctant to abandon fully the ways of the sail. Perhaps they didn't trust the dependability of the steam engine or the distance the ship could go on one load of coal. Yet the ships weren't fully sail rigged for their size, either. Most of the larger ships were two masted even when there was easily room for 3 or 4 masts.

As promised, Genevieve paid for the rooms as well as the shipping costs for her sand-spider. The Captain was a stout Englishman named Addison Featherweight, and thus he was not phased by the odd group of people showing up in the middle of the night to book passage. He was a bit curious about the sand-spider, but was more acceptable of shipping it once he was assured it was no danger to the ship. Of course, that was because the Gatling Cannon and flamethrower were oddly not mentioned when Madam LaFoux described the machine to him.

Alexia, Indrani and Rajani unloaded the baggage before the sand-spider could be loaded onto the ship, as it couldn't walk aboard and deposit itself in the cargo hold. Rajani managed to appear more human by only using two of her hands and leaving the other four arms under her throbe.

The crew hooked the machine up to the cargo crane and gently maneuvered it down into the cargo hold as a somewhat apprehensive Madam LaFoux looked on. The handling of her precious machine was done smoothly by the professional crew, who were adept at loading and unloading cargo with years of experience under their belts.

While the machine was being put into the cargo hold, the others were unpacking and settling into their cabins. Alexia and Conall shared one cabin. Indrani and Rajani shared a cabin as well. Madam LaFoux had a cabin all to herself. It seemed to be the most convenient arrangement that all could agree on.

Alexia was quite happy to drop the throbe and other Egyptian garb in favor of her more custom English garb. In fact, she almost went overboard with her nice burgundy evening dress with it's proper number of skirt layers, black bustle and black pumps. She also placed a modest amount of lip stain and blush that complemented her olive complexion.

She then helped Conall dress in spite of his protestations about how they were only going to be on the ship and only dining with the Captain that evening. Conall was dressed in a black dinner jacket with black satin slacks and shiny black leather shoes. She also rested her hands upon the back of his neck as he used a sharp blade to cut back his unruly beard growth. As a mortal, it was about the only was his countenance could be readily changed.

The two met Indrani and Rajani in the hallway as they left their room. Indrani was back in her paisley stole and skirt, appearing more Indian than Alexia had ever seen her up to that point. Her brown skin and shrine maiden mark were both quite readily apparent, and her face bore a minimum of makeup of mostly an auburn color.

Rajani, on the other hand, was still conservatively dressed in her throbe and hakkah, which made her look like a traditional Egyptian woman. Only two of her arms were visible, and they were covered with white gloves. Her face was under a veil as well. The only thing that made her stand out was her unusual height. She continued to wear her hakkah as if she were an unmarried woman.

Genevieve was already seated at the Captain's table by the time the others arrived. The Captain was talking with her about how England lost to Australia at Cricket by 45 runs back in March. He sounded rather disappointed if not mildly depressed about the whole affair. But he paused in his talks to stand and seat Indrani and Rajani properly at the table. The seating of Alexia was properly left to her husband, who was quite happy to do so.

In spite of his gruff voice, Captain Featherweight was cordial and quite polite. His face was weathered by years of exposure to the sea, and his fairly short black hair seemed about as unruly as Conall's normally was. He also had a shaggy beard and mustache that were black streaked with gray. The man was stocky in his build, and his musculature left no doubt that he was a hands-on man who still helped out with the manual labor aboard the ship.

The dinner consisted of fillet of Atlantic Salmon caught in the North Sea. The fish was preserved with sea salt, which prominently featured as part of the taste of the dish in spite of efforts to wash the excess sea salt off and seasoned with lime juice. The fish was served with vegetable freshly purchased from Egyptian markets, which made the meal quite familiar to Alexia and Conall. There was Earl Grey Tea to drink with dinner, although the Captain and Conall were more inclined to drink Scotch Whiskey with their food.

The Captain spoke of the new Xhosa war down in the Cape of South Africa. At last count, it was the ninth Cape War in the region since 1799. He seemed to think that the British Forces would do better than they did in the Eight War of 1850, where the HMS Birkenhead sank while bringing the reinforcements requested by Sir Henry Smith.

Oddly enough, Rajani left dinner a little before all the others, her half-sister speaking on her behalf in spite of the fact that they now dressed completely different and did not appear to be related. The Captain raised an eyebrow at that, but made no overt comment about it.

After dinner, Conall and Alexia retired to their cabin where she was undressed by him in his usual fast and efficient manner. Because of the long day in the sun and sand, Alexia was inclined to go to sleep, but Conall wasn't quite ready to turn in yet. He was feeling a bit... frisky. She wasn't totally adverse to his advances and heavy petting.

What she wasn't prepared for at all was when he waved towards the closed closet and said, "All right darling, you can come out now."

A very naked Rajani stepped out of the closet and approached the bed boldly.

"Conall?" asked Alexia, "What is the meaning of this?"

"I told you I was interested in a three way, didn't I?" he said with a smirk.

"Conall!"

"Don't fret woman," he said more seriously, "I promise you're the only woman I want children by. She's only here because she wants to pleasure you."

"How do you know that?"

"Indrani told me about her true feelings."

"And you're comfortable with that?"

"Yes wife, it doesn't bother me in the least."

By then, Rajani had climbed into bed, leaving Alexia sandwiched between her and her husband. Alexia felt a little overwhelmed as Rajani began gently touching her with her six hands.

"Do I get a say in this?"

"Look wife," he promised, "If you don't like this, I promise it will never happen again."

"Well..." she replied awkwardly, "all right."

Rajani shifted their positions around so that she was the backboard to Alexia, who was facing towards her husband with her own legs aside those of Alexia. He was quite willing to watch as Rajani began openly fondling Alexia almost as if for his amusement. She caressed her head with one hand and she fondled each of her generous breasts with another hand each. Another hand rubbed her stomach as another hand slipped down between her legs to feel Alexia's womanhood. Her last hand was entwined with Alexia's, holding it firmly yet gently. She tuned Alexia's head so that she could begin kissing Alexia on her lips. Alexia was reluctant at first, but was soon won over by the sincerity and passion of Rajani's kissing. In spite of the firmness of the kiss, Alexia noticed she wasn't trying to force any tongue into it.

Alexia was soon responding to Rajani's expert caress, and Alexia wondered just how much of the Kama Sutra she was knowledgeable of herself. She knew just the right way to tease Alexia's generous nipples as well as the sensitive points of her feminity. It was almost too much for Alexia as her breath quickened, her body trembled and sweat, and she felt quite warm and damp in places where she was used to such things when sexually aroused.

Then Rajani became serious about teasing Alexia to climax as she used one of her index fingers to insert into Alexia's hot and wet sex. She had almost all but forgotten about Conall until she saw him in the corner of her eyes. He seemed to be impressed with Rajani's ability to please his wife so efficiently, even though her finger was much smaller than his manhood. Alexia was also not aware of how she was softly moaning and panting from how excited she was.

Then she climaxed as she leaned back against Rajani as she couldn't remember in a long while. Her moans were getting loud enough to almost disturb the other cabins. As she came down, Rajani and Conall turned her over so that she was on her knees, her hands now against the chest of Rajani. Rajani slid down beneath Alexia so that she was laying on the bed with Alexia on top of her, Alexia's legs astride Rajani's. Conall got quite a good look at the nethers of both women. He was quite aroused and more than ready to take his own turn with his wife.

She used Rajani's breasts as a pillow while her husband made love to her. While Rajani's breasts were not quite as impressive as Alexia's, they were nothing to ignore. They were quite firm and able to support Alexia's head. Her hands supported her on either side of the significantly larger Rajani. Conall placed his hands on her rump and gained a grip there as he made love to her. He was also very good at pleasing Alexia (as well as himself). She was soon gasping and panting again as she was coming up upon yet another climax.

Rajani simply smiled softly and held Alexia, softly petting her with her three unused hands. Two of her hands continued to tease and caress her breasts as they hung down beneath Alexia's chest, keeping her nipples warm and firm. She also had one hand down between Alexia's legs, gently teasing that most sensitive spot that wasn't affected directly by Conall's manhood. Alexia looked up into the Daeva's red eyes, and wondered just what she could see in the place her soul would have been if she had one.

Now Conall was panting as he worked towards his own climax. Since they were married and not adverse to more children (at least on his part), he was quite content to cum inside his wife as Rajani softly held her. Rajani was silent, the only telling sounds the ones she made while moving and breathing.

"Oh wife," he said, "You two look so beautiful together. I simply must have another go around. That's all good, right?"

Alexia looked back at him long enough to nod. He began a second round of making love to his wife.

"Why?" she asked of Rajani, "Why do you want to please me so badly? Don't you want anything in return?"

The Daeva simply looked back silently. There was only her soft, slightly fangy smile and her piercing red eyes. Deep down, Alexia knew there was no answer forthcoming. Not now. Not later. Not ever. She wondered if even Indrani could put words to how Rajani was feeling and what her intentions were.

For a few minutes, she though about her first reactions to Genevieve, and what she might have missed out on with the French Inventor if she had been bolder and more curious. Rajani continued her petting and fondling, keeping her in a whole body state of arousal as Conall plied her with his generous man-tool. While thinking about Genevieve, she had yet another orgasm from her husband as well as Rajani. Each seemed stronger than the one before, rippling up and down her spine like waves washing up and down a relatively confined bay.

By the time Conall had cum a second time, Alexia was feeling the weight of the day on her shoulders. She was feeling rather tired, and simply collapsed on top of Rajani. Conall was also tired, and without a word, fell asleep as he rolled over next to the two women. Alexia seemed quite comfortable with her head pillowed between Rajani's breasts. Rajani cuddled Alexia with her six hands until she fell asleep atop her, and after petting Alexia's hair, fell asleep herself.


	5. Chapter 5

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Ravani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER FIVE

in which Alexia is entangled in friendship and love

Alexia awoke with her head still pillowed between the surprising soft breasts of Rajani. A pair of hands idly stroked her unbound hair, causing her to glance up into the face of Rajani with her slightly fangy smile. Those piercing red eyes looked back, alert and awake, once again seeming to look deep into Alexia in the place her soul would be.

She turned her head to gaze upon the slumbering form of Conall. He was snoring, although not too loudly, and noticed that sleep had brought his manhood to full attention. Being practical about such things, Conall tended not to let such things 'go to waste'. Yet Alexia still felt a strange glow from getting such intense stimulation from two experienced lovers.

It was almost like the first time she had made love all over again. The experience was more than she had ever felt before. Conall promised that if she didn't like the situation, she would never have to go through it again... and yet she liked it. In her wildest dreams, she never though she would be entangled in a three way encounter.

Three ways, mistresses, love for the sake of love itself,.. it all seemed so... French. They even had a phrase for it: Ménage à trois. For a moment, she though about the first time she touched the hand of Genevieve Lefoux. How their hands touched, and how it made her feel so odd. She wondered how things might have turned out if she had met Genevieve Lefoux before she met Conall Maccon.

Her thoughts were disrupted by a kiss on the cheek from Rajani. Looking back into the Daeva's eyes, she wondered if Rajani was some sort of mind reader. Her expression seemed to say that she somehow knew what Alexia was thinking and what she was feeling. Of course, the extensive skin contact with a preternatural like her should have put an end to any supernatural ability she might have possessed. It was strange enough that she could keep her six arms, blue skin and fangs no matter how long she should not have been able to: Not from her touch, not from the God-breaker Plague Zone.

The silence of the moment was disrupted by Conall's mighty yawn and stretch. Alexia looked at him as he looked at himself. It didn't take a mind reader to tell what he wanted when he looked from his loins up to her eyes. She didn't even have to voice her approval anymore. It was just one of those things about two people who were married and yet still madly in love with each other.

So Rajani petted and caressed Alexia with all of her hands while Conall mounted her from behind. Somehow, it just seemed acceptable to use the tall Daeva as her bed while her husband made such passionate love to her.

Yet Alexia was not just laying there and taking it all. She cupped her hands about the Daeva's breasts and took a nipple into her mouth, pretending to suckle like a babe. The sound of the Daeva's breath increased, and yet she still made not a single sound from her vocal cords.

But once again, Alexia was between two experienced lovers, getting stimulated so strongly, came into orgasm slightly before Conall. Her body stiffened as the intense feelings washed up and down her spine. But the man seed was delivered in a timely fashion. Alexia wondered if she would ever conceive again.

Then Conall leaned over Alexia and quietly asked her into her ear, "Well wife, did you like a three way? You certainly seemed to get the best end of the bargain, don't you think?"

"It was intense," she said calmly as she allowed herself to fall limp over Rajani, "I still don't know what I did to deserve such special attention."

"Well," he mused, "I think it's pretty obvious. There's at least two people who love you and want to make you happy."

"Rajani doesn't threaten you?" she observed.

"Of course not," he replied, "but you haven't answered the question. I did promise that if you didn't like this, you'd never have to do it again."

"I..." Alexia faltered, unable to finish the sentence as it seemed to catch in her throat. Rajani sensed Alexia's hesitation, and kissed her on the forehead.

"I need a bath," she announced suddenly, "Husband, I can't decide until I've had a proper bath and a cup of tea. Some scones would be nice too."

"Very well," he replied evenly, "I'm sure we could all use those things. Do you agree, darling?"

Rajani nodded as she sat up, sitting up Alexia with her.

"The bath facilities on this ship are small," mused Conall, "Only one person at a time... unless you really like someone." The last part came out with a chuckle. "Do you mind if the wife goes first?" he asked of Rajani.

Rajani simply shook her head 'no'.

"Thank you," said Alexia to both Rajani and Conall. She climbed off Rajani and went for a long bathrobe. Something silk, and nice burgundy red color. She didn't have to look to know that there was two pairs of eyes following her every step.

"Rajani?" asked Conall, "Are you good with making tea?"

Alexia tied the sash as she waited. As she wasn't looking, she couldn't tell if she was shaking or nodding her head. The sash seemed to high for the robe, so when she tied it underneath her impressive bosom, it seemed to lift it even higher into the open neckline.

"Oh good," replied Conall, "I'm sure we'll have tea and scones prepared by the time you return from your bath, Wife."

She stopped at the door as her hand rested on the knob. Without looking back, she inquired, "So that's all you two are going to be doing, Husband?"

"I don't know..." he started, but then suddenly grasped the nature of the question as he spluttered, "Wife! You KNOW that you're the ONLY one for me!"

"I tease you, Husband," she replied.

"Tease?" he asked, "I never thought I'd live to see the day that you tease me, Wife."

"Well, I must admit that she is both exotic and beautiful," she replied evenly, "I could well understand how you could be... tempted."

"Is this still teasing, Wife?"

"Yes," replied Alexia, "am I doing it right?"

"Yes," he answered, "Yes you are."

She quietly opened the door, entered the hallway after making sure it was clear, and then equally quietly closed the door as she made her way to the ship's bath. When she stopped at the door, she remembered that it wasn't her own home. She knocked on the door to check if someone was already in there.

To her surprise, Genevieve's voice came from behind the door, inquiring, "Occupied. Can I help you?"

"No," replied Alexia quickly, "I'm just waiting for the bath. I can come back later."

"It's alright," answered Genevieve quickly, "I'm nearly done. You can have the place to yourself in a few more minutes."

"If I'm not imposing."

"No," replied Genevieve, "Not at all. I promise."

"Alright, I'll wait. Thank you."

Alexia leaned back against the wall when she suddenly realized that Rajani was standing right next to her. She apparently borrowed one of Conall's robes, judging by how large it was. With two arms in the arms of the robe, the other fours arms were difficult to spot. Alexia had an advantage because she already knew they were there.

"Genevieve isn't quite done yet," said Alexia, "Have you put the tea over the fire?"

She nodded.

"Well I hope you haven't left Conall in charge of the tea. He's going to let it get too hot and too strong. He always has his tea too strong."

Rajani shrugged with her visible pair of arms.

"Oh, I suppose you like strong tea too?"

She shrugged again. Then the awkward quiet returned as Alexia waited for Genevieve. The silence was finally broken when the door handle made a loud announcement that it was opening by virtue of the fact that the whole thing from the bolt to the door hinges were in bad need of oil.

By the time Alexia had turned to look, Genevieve was in the doorway and almost right in her face. The Frenchwoman was clad in naught but a while cotton towel that was barely long enough to cover both her breasts and her nether region at the same time.

"Sorry to make you wait," Genevieve said quietly.

"It's fine, Genevieve," replied Alexia, "We're out at sea after all. It's not like we're in a hurry."

She stepped past Alexia when suddenly Rajani stopped her. With three arms on each of them (one on their shoulder, one on their upper arm, and one around their waist), they were both turned abruptly to face each other. The two were nearly forced to look into each others eyes.

"Rajani!" blurted out Alexia, "What are you doing?"

"Alexia," asked Genevieve, "What is happening?"

With surprising ease, Rajani put the two women together, placing Alexia's arms about Genevieve's waist as the Frenchwoman's arms were placed over the half-Italian woman's neck and shoulders. Genevieve began blushing even though Alexia couldn't quite understand or admit to herself why.

"What my half-sister believes is that you two are in fact in love with each other," said Indrani, who also seemed to mysteriously out of the thin air, "Honestly."

Genevieve was left speechless and her mouth gaping as she willingly embraced Alexia. She blushed more as she pressed her towel clad body against Alexia.

"I don't understand," stammered Alexia, "I mean... we're good friends... We've known each other for years..." She realized that she could feel Genevieve trembling in her arms.

"Oh Alexia," she said at last with passion and allowing her French accent slip out more strongly, "There's something I simply must tell you. It's been weighing on my heart and mind for years. Almost as long as I've known you... I love you!"

"Why now?"

"Because it took two strangers to make me see how strong it is. Two strangers who can see into her hearts better than anyone I've ever met before. It has to be the tall one: The Daeva. I'd swear she would burn a hole in my soul with that piercing gaze of hers. It seems she can read us like a book."

"You really think so?"

"Yes. With all my excess soul."

Rajani quietly ushered the two woman into the bath while Indrani simply sighed, "Honestly." The door quietly closed behind them. She locked the door and set the chain lock.

With speed and efficiency that would do Conall proud, Rajani untied Alexia's sash and stripped off her robes while Genevieve felt the need to avert her eyes. But she could not help but peek at Alexia's glorious naked form as she slipped into the porcelain lined tub.

But things changed even more when Genevieve's towel seemed to vanish in a blur. Almost as fast, she found herself right next to the tub on her knees. She was even mystified by the loofah and bar of soap that seemed to just appear in her hands.

Rajani was next to her, and Genevieve got her first look at the fully nude form of the Daeva: Her blue skin, her six arms, and her fanged smile. Even her breasts, while not as impressive as Alexia's, were still considerably fuller than her own. But above all else, there were those piercing red eyes. The ones that seemed to look right into the inventor's excessive soul.

"You..." she stammered, "You want me to wash Alexia?"

Rajani nodded.

"I'm not a baby," protested Alexia.

She simply shook her head no.

"I am a baby?"

She shook her head no again.

Rajani helped Genevieve by dipping the loofah in the bathwater, and then lathering it up with the soap bar even though Genevieve was still holding them. She then guided the Frenchwoman's hand with the loofah to Alexia's back as Rajani used one of her other hands to move aside Alexia's unbound hair. Once her other hand was free, she set the bar soap aside on the soap tray built into the tub. Slowly and awkwardly at first, she scrubbed Alexia's back. But she did it more smoothly and firmly as time passed and her confidence built up.

Alexia did not recoil from her touch, scream or otherwise protest. She simply sat there with a blush in her cheeks and seemed to enjoy the attention she was getting.

"I never thought I'd live long enough to see this day," said Genevieve softly, "It's something I'd never have had the courage to do on my own."

"Don't say such things," replied Alexia, "You're one of the bravest people I know. Just because we've had cross purposes in the past doesn't mean I've ever had disrespect for you."

"Perhaps this is a dream. It seems too good to be true. I never realized even in my dreams how beautiful you truly are." She yelped when Alexia pinched her arm. "Ow, this is not a dream." She gulped when Rajani pulled her hands forward around Alexia's torso, now leaving the loofah on one breast while her open hand was now cupping the other breast. It was hard to tell which woman was blushing harder, the unintentional groper or the equally unintentionally groped.

Alexia turned her head, now staring into Genevieve's eyes, separated by mere inches at this point. They both turned to look at the softly smiling face of Rajani. Time itself seemed to slow to a crawl, as if the moment had stretched out seemingly into an hour. She put two of her hands over Genevieve's hands, encouraging her to clean with the loofah while feeling the shape of the breast and nipple with the other.

Rajani took two of her hands, first pointing at Alexia and Genevieve, and then clustering her fingers and putting them tips to tips as if they were two people kissing.

"Oh no," stammered Genevieve, "I couldn't dare hope... I couldn't wish for..." But her protests and disbelief were cut off as Alexia kissed her on the lips.

...

Indrani knocked at the Maccon's room door.

She heard Conall answer from within, "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Are you decent?" she asked.

"Never," he replied, "Oh wait... you mean..." He laughed. "Alright, I've covered myself with the bedsheets. You can come in, there's nothing to peep at. The door's not locked."

Indrani slowly opened the door as if she weren't sure that Conall was being fully honest with her, and once she was sure he was covered, made her way into the room.

"So what brings you in here with a man so dangerously naked?"

"My half-sisters," she replied, "Do you know that they are both in the bath with the Frenchwoman?"

"Oh, I've had a feeling that might explain why they've been gone so long."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"That my wife has her own little harem on the side?"

"Well, harems are normally gathered by the men,.. but yes."

"It doesn't bother me at all. She has more than enough love for all of us even though she claims she has no soul to love with. If she loves her little harem, it detracts nothing from how she loves me."

"I don't believe she is truly soulless," replied Indrani, "but the Rakshasa believe that the preternatural has... a 'negative soul'. Nothing can truly live without a little soul, even with the most base animal."

"Negative soul, you say?"

"Yes, because you cannot cancel something with nothing."

"Ah, an interesting theory. Has it been tested?"

"Not in the way you Western sciences would, but just from our own sense and our thousands of years of experience in the matter."

"That seems just as valid as the Scientific Method to me."

"You must be very enlightened."

"Well, thank you darling. That's a very nice thing to say. But all that is not the real reason why you're here, is it?"

"You're right," she replied, "It is not."

"Well then just come out with it."

"It would be just easier to show you." She stood, and with a fluid motion, dropped her robe to the floor. He could see her from her mid-thighs upwards, but then she dropped to her hands and knees and fell out of sight. But even though she was not a werewolf, he could recognize the subtle sounds of shifting, breaking and reforming bones produced by an experienced shape shifter.

What did surprise him just a bit was the 500 pound red tigress with black stripes, black fangs, and deep red eyes that put her massive clawed feet on the end of the bed and looked him in the eyes.

He responded by shifting into his brindled wolf form. In spite of his size as a wolf, he was still so small in comparison to the tigress. He seemed as dwarfed in their animal forms as he dwarfed her in their human forms.

The tigress crawled onto the end of the bed as he crawled out from under the sheets. The two came closer, each sniffing at the muzzle of the other. They came closer as they smelled each others head and necks. He knew that he was on thin ground. If she wanted him dead, it would be a simple matter for her to bite his neck and crush his windpipe.

But he sensed no hostility from her. Only curiosity. It was only a guess on his part, but he figured he may well be the first werewolf she's ever gotten this close to.

...

Lord Akaldama clutched the note in his hand as he glanced into Prudence's room. She was peacefully asleep, like good 'human' children her age tended to. He had to make sure she was all right. The remarkable child of Alexia and Conall Maccon was his responsibility.

But the note worried him. It spoke of a small boat loaded with strangers from India slipping into London. A boat load of unsavory types that were supposed to have been eliminated by the British Governor of India years ago: Thuggee.

But his intelligence network was one of the best any vampire had ever assembled. Almost nothing escaped their attention. No detail or bit of gossip was to small or insignificant for them to overlook. They couldn't simply divine what they came to London for, but Lord Akaldama didn't survive as long as he had by not hoping for the best and being prepared for the worst.

It was no great stretch of the imagination what kind of assassin they could turn Prudence into. She almost seemed to be created as a powerful assassin against the supernatural. With her ability to steal the powers of the supernatural and making them her own, she was as powerful as the touch of the preternatural without the obvious drawbacks of trying to get such a person close enough to touch her target. Until Prudence touched her 'victim', there was no way to tell her apart from a completely normal human.

She would be quite the prize. Every instinct of the elder vampire told him so.


	6. Chapter 6

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Ravani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER SIX

in which Alexia returns her feelings

So Genevieve found herself in a most awkward situation. One she never dreamed could happen in her lifetime. She sat by a bathtub with her Alexia in it, kissing her on the lips warmly, with her hands (and a sponge) on Alexia's impressive chest. Warm soapy suds were the only thing between Alexia's glorious breasts and the fingers that ached to feel them. She felt so joyous that she could have died in that moment and never regretted it. They were both naked, together, separated only by the thin canvas bathtub wall.

And the person she could thank for the whole thing was right there with them: Rajani, the blue-skinned, six-armed, fanged and smiling Daeva. Once she had placed Genevieve's hands over Alexia's breasts, she seemed happy just to sit back and watch the events she set into motion unfolding before her. She gazed at the two with those deep red eyes, searching their souls to confirm what she had already asserted (through her half-sister Indrani) that Genevieve and Alexia had been in love with each other for quite some time, but couldn't confess their feelings because of the fickle hand of fate that seemed to plot to keep them apart forever.

Alexia gently moaned in Genevieve's mouth as she continued to kiss her without taking a breath. She opened her mouth as she pressed in to make the kiss ever deeper and ever hotter, almost begging Genevieve to put her tongue into Alexia's mouth and play with her tongue. While she passionately kissed women before Alexia, this kiss alone seemed to be the most special she had ever shared. She couldn't resist the impulse any longer, so she slipped her tongue into Alexia's mouth and gave her the hottest French kiss she had ever managed.

Rajani smiled and watched as the two become lost in the heat and desire of the moment. They were both blushing furiously as they rubbed their naked bodies against each other as much as the tub would allow them to. Genevieve didn't even consciously realize that she had dropped the soapy loofah so she could fondle Alexia's motherly breasts with both hands, teasing her generous nipples with at least three of her fingers on each hand. As she fingered, pinched, pulled and swirled the ever firmer nipples, Alexia moaned louder into Genevieve's mouth. It almost felt as she could orgasm right there in the warm soapy bathwater... and then she did.

Alexia broke away from the kiss as she moaned her ecstasy loudly, gasping and panting as the orgasm seemed to shake her to the depths of her being. The water shook along with Alexia. It seemed like minutes passed as Alexia climaxed strongly in Genevieve's arms. But when Alexia came down, she was spent and resting her head against the breasts of the deliriously happy French inventor. Genevieve allows her fingers to idly caress Alexia's breasts as she calmed down and allowed her breathing and heart rate to slow to more normal levels.

"Oh Genevieve," moaned Alexia softly, "I... I can't say..."

"Are you upset with me?" asked Genevieve anxiously, "Have I done something wrong?"

Rajani gently lifted Genevieve's head by the chin and softly shook her head 'no' as those red eyes bore into Genevieve's eyes. Genevieve looked back into Alexia's eyes, trying to read her reaction.

"It's not that..." gasped Alexia, "Not at all... I promise..." She blinked as she looked away, turning her head and exposing her neck to Genevieve. Seeing an opening, she leaned closed and nibbled at the soft olive neck. "It's just..." she sputtered, "just... that... I think I love you too!"

"Oh, the years I've waited to hear you say that," gasp Genevieve as she paused from nibbling at Alexia's neck.

"But can I love you and Conall both?" Alexia asked nervously.

"But of course," replied Genevieve, "I would happily be your mistress. Conall is about as open minded as I've ever seen, and I'm sure he would find you having your own mistresses to be quite... amusing."

"Mistresses?"

Genevieve pointed to Rajani, and said, "Surely we can't leave out the one who brought us together in love after the years that we've known each other, can we?"

"You're right," replied Alexia, "She does love me too. I don't know what I've done to deserve all this love you've all given to me."

"You didn't have to do anything but be yourself," said Genevieve quietly.

"Speaking of Conall," said Alexia quickly, "I'm overdue for tea and scones. Maybe Conall is worrying about me. I best get back. Rajani too. You're certainly welcome to join us, Genevieve."

A response was not necessary. Wild horses couldn't have kept Genevieve away.

...

Meanwhile, Conall was feeling a little overwhelmed by a curious tigress. It only seemed moments before the circling and sniffing of each other had turned into a full body pin, the tigress letting her considerable advantage in mass to pin and control the brindled wolf like he had never been before. He almost felt like he was going to become submissive to her. She held his life in her massive paws, and if she chose to take it away from him, he had little chance of resisting.

But still, she remained curious instead of aggressive. Her paws batted him around like a play toy that she just unwrapped for Christmas. It seems that she had sniffed and licked almost every square inch of his body, even though he had pretty much done the same to her. The slitted eyes that stared down on him were difficult to read.

She seemed like a different person, a different being, toying with him as compared to the shy and innocent lass that seemed so awkward around a naked man just days earlier. It was not as much an increase in her aggression, and yet she was much more assertive and confident in her tigress form. Conall was very consistent as both man and wolf, but she almost seemed like a completely different person in her tigress form.

But then the door opened and the quiet was shattered as they heard Alexia scream, "Conall?! Leave my husband alone! Please don't kill him!" They both looked towards the door and the panicked Alexia. It was a matter of seconds before she was on top of them, her towel falling off somewhere between the door and the bed as she ran.

As soon as her bare body touched them, the werewolf and the Rakshasi began changing back to their human forms. The masses shifted, leaving Conall much larger and stronger than Indrani once more, and yet the naked Indian girl was still on top of the naked Scotsman. It was also then that she realized that she was lying right on top of his naked and erect manhood.

"I can't figure what I've done to warrant having two naked and lovely women lying on top of me like this, but..."

Indrani cut off Conall's wise crack when she screamed her bloody head off. The scream both quieted Conall and took Alexia by surprise. Genevieve also stood in the door with her mouth agape. It only seemed like Rajani was neither surprised nor shaken by the loud noise emerging from Indrani's mouth.

Rajani calmly walked, clad in her towel, to the tea service where she began pouring tea and serving scones. She seemed to think that everyone in the room was going to be staying for tea.

Alexia clamped her hand over Indrani's mouth, as she could think of nothing else to calm her. She had to be careful not to get bitten, so she had to clamp the mouth shut tightly as she could manage.

"Calm yourself, lasses," he said energetically, "as much as I like having two attractive women fighting over me..."

"You aren't helping, Husband!" snapped Alexia, "How can you be so calm when you're fighting for you very life?!"

"Fighting for my... my..." Conall stopped speaking as he suddenly burst into outrageous laughter. He couldn't help but nearly crush the two women to his bosom as he hugged one in each arm. It didn't even seem to occur to him that he had both pairs of breasts snuggling into her furriness of his chest hair.

"What's so funny?!" she snapped.

"We weren't fighting, wife," he said between laughs, "She just wanted to see what a real manly werewolf was like. It was just curiosity, I swear. If it was a real fight for my life, do you really think I'd have an erection like this?"

She stopped to look her husband over carefully. His condition was as he had stated. She began to sputter, "You were going to..." Alexia couldn't continue, causing Conall to burst out laughing again.

"Of course not," he replied, "it was just the beast reaction carrying over to my human form. I can't remember the last time I considered submitting to anyone, let alone a female even larger than myself. But then I've never tangled with a tiger before, and the female of the tiger species is even smaller than the male. I'm just glad I've never had to tangle with one like this."

But Indrani was weeping, her tears falling over Alexia's hand.

"I think you can let go now, wife," said Conall more quietly.

When the hand was moved, Indrani blurt out, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Don't feel sorry, lass," he said with calm and authoritative assertion, "because I promise that nothing happened. Nothing happened at all."

But Indrani simply broke down, crying into Conall's massive chest. It all seemed so overwhelming to the Indian woman.

"You know you're the only one for me, wife," he assured Alexia.

"But then I find you..."

"It's my fault," cried Indrani, "I came in here to see him! I shifted forms first! I climbed onto the bed! I wanted to see and smell a werewolf in close quarters! I was overwhelmed with curiosity! I swear! If you must blame anyone, _blame me_!"

"Now that I know what happened and what didn't," said Alexia analytically, "I don't need to blame anyone for this. I know it... just happened. Something that doesn't seem likely to happen again."

"And Wife, that's why I love you more than I've ever loved anyone before," he said, "perhaps even more than my own kin... What am I saying? Of course you and Prudence are my kin."

"So the love that Rajani and Genevieve have for me," asked Alexia, "That doesn't bother you?"

"Of course not, my sweet," he said back, "because in spite of your protests about lacking soul, I know you have enough love in your heart for everyone you care about. I really do. Besides, I think it's time to get dressed, and have our tea and scones, my pretties."

Alexia looked up, noting that the tea had been properly poured and the scones set out, and they only had to but go and get them. Rajani was politely waiting for them, as she had not taken the tea she had poured or scones she had set aside for herself.

"Excuse me," said Genevieve, "but I think I should retire to my own room to dress."

"As should we," added Indrani, indicating towards her blue-skinned half-sister as well.

"That is a very good suggestion," noted Alexia.

Genevieve retired from the room as Indrani got off the bed, gathered her robes, and slipped it back on. She then gathered up her blue-skinned half-sister and retired from the room as well. In a moment, Alexia and Conall found themselves alone in the room as he continued to cuddle his naked wife. His ran his hand through her still unbound hair.

"Perhaps there's still time for a quickie, Wife," mused Conall.

"Alright," she said with a quiet sigh, "but nothing more. We do have guest who will be waiting for us very soon, you know."

"I am aware," he replied as he settled his wife on his erect manhood once more.

"I hope I won't need another bath after this."

"I'm sure we'll adequately have you ready when the guests are here, Wife."

...

Lord Akaldama was worried. He had sent off a message to Alexia and Conall in Egypt two days prior, and yet there was still no response from either of them. It didn't seem like Alexia to let a message go so long without answering a message plainly marked as urgent. He wondered if they might already be in some kind of trouble.

It seemed par for the course for the two of them, after all. They retired to Egypt so that Conall might live and die as a pure mortal, and not suffer the madness of an Alpha werewolf. It seemed that fate would not even allow them that much of a respite.

On the one hand, a new and yet familiar vampire queen appeared in London to take over the place of the vampire queen now residing in the old werewolf castle: One Ivy Tunstall. One of the last people he ever figured for vampire queen material. But she had remarkable tastes, and she also had a rare knack for interior decorating lacking in most vampire queens. It was quite interesting when she came over to discuss fashion, because he sense of fashion was keen... except perhaps for her taste in woman's hats and other trends in head gear.

On the other hand, Alexia was retired and gone from London. There was once again a vacancy on the Queen's council. It was quite hard to find a preternatural to replace her, especially one with her sense of politics and her overall savvy. He could certainly have used her experience when dealing with the Thuggee arrivals in London.

While his spy network tracked their movements easy enough, it was still disquieting to the elder vampire that he still could not fathom their true motives. He was fairly sure that his ward, Prudence, was their ultimate prize, but very few of his agents understood Hindi. It was difficult to figure out what their ultimate plan would be, and therefore that made it look rather dangerous to his keen awareness. He thought about capturing them and using vampire powers to make them talk, but he doubted he could get them all in one fell swoop.

If some of them avoided capture, they would become desperate, and then they would act in ways that he could not anticipate. And he hated that sort of uncertainty.

If he simply eliminated the problem, that would most likely prompt the Thuggee back in India to come in much greater numbers. They simply didn't seem like the kind of people who gave up simply because of their mounting losses.

"Having trouble deducing the Thuggee's motives?" asked a voice from the shadows.

It took a special kind of person to sneak up on a vampire as old and crafty as Lord Akaldama, so he simply replied, "You are right, Mister Floote. I am. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Prudence," he replied calmly, "I seem like I don't have loyalty to Alexia and her family, but I do. Alesandro is at rest at last, and I do care about his children and grandchildren."

"I see," he replied, knowing that Floote might lie by omission, but never on purpose.

"The Thuggee are in fact here for Miss Prudence and her exceptional abilities. I have no doubt about that. For reasons I cannot go into right now, my agents in India are fluent in Hindi, and they are tracking their presence here in London."

"That does make me feel better, knowing that."

"I should also tell you that my Egyptian agents have told me that Alexia, Conall, and two of Alexia's half-sisters from India are on a boat coming to London as we speak."

"Half-sisters from India?" asked the elder vampire, "I had no idea. I didn't think Alexia had any idea about such matters."

"It didn't seem important enough until now to mention it. Alesandro has been all around the world, and he did... sew some wild oats along the way. It was impossible to keep him completely out of trouble, after all."

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I take them in from the sea as soon as they arrive in London, Mister Floote?"

"I was rather hoping you would," he replied, "as I'm not sure that Alexia is ready to forgive me yet for the deceit I've laid on her. She still has reason to trust you, after all."

"That would be a rather reasonable assumption. Would it be reasonable to pool out resources to protect Prudence, then?"

"Yes," replied Floote, "We must strike at the right moment, and make sure that this plot against Prudence and her parents dies here in London, with absolute certainty and no loose ends."

"I agree, Mister Floote. No loose ends. Aren't you interested in seeing Prudence?"

"No," he replied evenly, "Not yet. Just let her sleep. She's had a long study schedule with you."

Lord Akaldama began to wonder just how much Floote had been spying on him already. He simply nodded his agreement with the mysterious butler.

"'Dama," came a voice from outside the door, "Pumpkin tart need bedtime story." It was Prudence, who apparently could not sleep.

He was distracted for but a second, but when he looked back to tell Floote to hide somewhere, the man was already gone.

"I wish I knew how he does that," grumbled Akaldama before he answered, "All right, sweet pumpkin tart. 'Dama will tell you a bedtime story in just a moment."

"'Kay."


	7. Chapter 7

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Ravani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER SEVEN

in which tea and scones are served

Thus did the four ladies and one man (who on occasion could be accused of being a gentleman) did find themselves in the front area of the room of Lady Alexia Maccon and Lord Conall Maccon enjoying their tea and scones. Everyone was properly dressed after their various 'misadventures' and properly freshened up.

Alexia found herself in a seating arrangement set by Rajani between Conall and Genevieve while Indrani and Rajani sat together on the other side of the room. Yet Alexia found herself the center of attention between her husband, the French inventor and the mysterious Daeva from the distant British colony of India. She had not realized just how much she was loved by the French inventor let alone a recently discovered half-sister from such a distant nation.

The Rakshasi, on the other hand, seemed to be more content to be absorbed in her own thoughts while trying to not look at the large man/werewolf sitting next to Alexia. She still seemed shaken by her own boldness when she investigated the Alpha werewolf in his own bed in her tigress form. It was also the fact that the werewolf's wife had caught them together in bed and assumed that her husband's life was in danger, or worse, was being unfaithful to his wife. Neither was the case. She was simply curious about the differences in their 'true forms'. It was her first close encounter with a werewolf, let alone such a fine male specimen of the 'species'.

Alexia added a dab of honey to her tea to compensate for the excess strength of the tea because her husband was in charge of brewing the tea while she was in the bath, and of course, allowed it to brew too long and become too strong for her tastes. It was a relatively young tea blend named the Queen Victoria Blend in honor of the ruling British monarch and Empress of Egypt that she had purchased as an import from a street market in Cairo.

She glanced over to Genevieve, and asked, "What do you think of this new tea blend?"

"_Oh_," she sighed softly as she gazed longingly at Alexia, "_It's quite lovely_."

"Well, that's a word I don't often hear about tea."

Genevieve suddenly blinked as she awakened from a dream, and said, "Ah yes, the tea. Of course I meant the tea. It's hard to put the taste of the tea and how much I appreciate into words. Did I use the wrong word?"

"I can't say its the wrong word, but it is a word I don't hear often in describing tea. But don't worry, I know English isn't your first language. I'm sure you used the word you felt was the best for the situation."

Genevieve sighed softly as if she had dodged a bullet. She was in fact commenting about Alexia, and not about the tea. The tea was rather far from her mind when Alexia had asked the question.

"I'm sure that she meant well, and the tea is more than adequate, wife," interjected Conall.

"I'm sure you're right, husband," she replied evenly.

"Perhaps we should speak of what we intend to do when we get to London?" asked Genevieve, who was slightly desperate to change the subject.

"That's a good point," agreed Alexia.

"I am sure that the Thuggee are already in London as we speak," said Indrani, "We will be at a distinct disadvantage in this matter. The only edge we have is we already know where the target, Prudence I believe, is already being sheltered. We already know that she is under the protection of a powerful vampire..." She paused while trying to recall his name.

"Lord Akaldama," interjected Alexia helpfully.

"Yes," replied Indrani, "that one. While I'm sure he is old and cunning in his own circles, he might be at a disadvantage when dealing with the fanatical Thuggee group. I hope that he is wise enough to realize when he needs assistance and thoughtful enough to accept it."

"I've known him for many many years," replied Alexia, "I'm sure that's not a problem."

"That's good, because we're not exactly in a position to allow him to refuse our aid in this matter."

Alexia was not comfortable with the implied meaning of that statement.

"Well, Lord Akaldama is the Potentate to the Queen herself. He is the most powerful vampire in all of the British Empire. I'm sure that there is ample assistance available to him should he but say the word. The Police, the Military, and pretty much anyone else who matters would basically bend over backwards to assist him in any matter."

"And yet he is threatened by an organization that they all believe has been eliminated. A group that is considered dead and gone. How many are willing to put themselves out to deal with a matter they already feel has been dealt with? Would they even take his request seriously? Even that assumes that Lord Akaldama is even aware of the threat against Prudence, and indirectly against himself as well."

"One thing I know about him," said Alexia, "is that he didn't live as long as he has without being aware of every significant detail going on around him. His spy network is almost beyond compare. The knowledge he possesses about what is happening in the Empire is peerless down to the least little minutia. I'm sure he's aware of the presence of the Thuggee and the threat they represent."

"I hope that you are correct. But I would rather err on the side of caution. I believe that it is better to be safe than sorry. There are enough people from India in Britain that spotting the Thuggee agents might not be as easy as one might think."

"And we are still 5 days or so away from London," added Genevieve, "Who knows how much trouble can happen there before we even arrive."

"We must act swiftly and decisively once we get to London. There will not be a moment that we can afford to waste."

"I agree with that," inserted Conall.

"I believe that Lord Akaldama can at least manage things until we get there," said Alexia with some confidence in her voice.

"I very much hope that you are correct," replied Indrani.

"Then I guess there's not much more to say until we're almost ready to dock in London," announced Lord Maccon, "Perhaps we should reconvene here on that day to finalize our plans. Until then, we should do our best to get as much relaxing and recreating in as we can. There won't be much time for such things once we're in London and acting against the Thuggee."

Rajani nodded quietly.

"My half-sister and I are in complete agreement," agreed Indrani.

"I'm sure I can do some final adjustments to my sand walker," added Genevieve, "I want it to be in its best possible shape in case we need the mobility and firepower in London."

Lord Maccon nodded to her in agreement.

"Then we shall retire to our room to meditate upon our future actions," said Indrani as she indicated to herself and her half-sister.

"Very well," said Alexia, "I won't disturb you unless it's quite important then."

"Thank you for your concern."

So the people so assembled finished their tea and scones, and retired to their various rooms.

...

Two days had passed since Lord Akaldama had his unexpected meeting with Floote, and things were somewhat frustrating for the vampire and Potentate. It seemed that there was enough people in London from the distant land of India that even a small horde of Thuggee were not all that easy to track. He wondered how Floote's men were doing, as he had not heard from him since the first meeting.

The sense of security in Akaldama's place was in a high state since he perceived the threat against his ward, Prudence, the offspring of Alexia and Conall Maccon. He was also curious how soon they would be arriving in London, as he could use their support as well as sate his curiosity about Alexia's half-sisters from the distant land of India. He believed that she might not have been aware of them, as she had never mentioned that she had distant relatives in India before let alone anywhere else in the world.

But on the other hand, he supposed he couldn't put such behavior past Alesandro Tarabotti, the father of Alexia who abandoned her and her mother even before she was born. He traveled the world with Floote at his side until his unexpected death at the claws of a mentally sick Alpha werewolf. It was then that Floote became the 'loyal servant' of the only daughter that Akaldama was aware of: Alexia.

He was also smart enough not to bother the Dewan or the Queen until he had concrete evidence of a plot against Prudence. There was no reason to believe either of them would believe the stories of the Thuggee cult still operating in India let alone mounting a major operation in the capital of the British Empire itself. As a relatively new Potentate, he doubted he had built up enough 'political capital' to expend in this fashion.

It was fairly simple to come to the realization that he needed more intelligence about the situation in India, and that would require him to recruit more natives from India who spoke Hindi and still had some connections to their native land now a British colony. Many of whom were not fluent in the Queen's English. To gather intelligence from them effectively, he would have to find friendly operatives who were bilingual in both English and Hindi. He needed translators.

While Floote claimed to have such operatives, Akaldama was more inclined to take care of his own resources than depend on the services of a stranger, even some as known as Floote. After all, he had his own schedule even while he was serving Alexia. One at times crossing purposes with her. One that almost cost Conall his life over the Plague Zone of Egypt. He had to wonder about his professed concern for Prudence's safety. As her guardian, it ultimately fell upon his shoulders and his alone to keep her safe from all plots and harm.

After considering his options for a while, he came to the conclusion that he had to hire a few Hindi women to act as house staff. Even though it was a risk to bring them into the same house as Prudence, he also knew enough to know that there were no women in the Thuggee. Their male ego would not allow them to employ a woman for a kidnapping plot. By paying her above the grade, it would help to insure loyalty to him and help persuade her to keep him in her confidence about matter back home and knowledge of the Thuggee.

"Eustace?" asked the vampire lord.

As with most drones of his personal service, he seemed to materialize as if on command.

"Yes my lord?"

"Arrange interviews with trustworthy Hindi women," he ordered, "We require knowledgeable house staff. They must first and foremost understand both English and Hindi. I would prefer someone who has been raised in India and immigrated lately."

"Women, my lord?"

"I have reasons," he assured the drone, "please carry out my orders."

"Of course, my lord. I didn't mean to question your motives."

"Of course, sweet Eustace. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, my lord."

The faithful drone disappeared from the room almost as fast as he appeared. It was in fact that he would have preferred to gain a few Hindi men for his drones, and perhaps he would... eventually. But the times were different, and he wasn't used to being questioned... by anyone other than Alexia, of course. From her, questioning was appreciated. It was her sharp mind and her preternatural disposition to dispassion and logic that made her so appealing as a friend and confidant.

He would have to interrupt his busy schedule for days to manage these interviews, of course, not to mention taking a day or so just for Eustace to set them up. It would be well if Alexia and her previously unknown half-sisters managed to put in their appearance before then. Of course, he would be well aware of the moment Alexia and her traveling group as soon as they arrive in London.

...

Alexia awoke to a pounding on her cabin door. She wondered what time it was, as of course, the room was sealed as well as possible against the sunlight. Glancing at her slumbering husband, she deduced it was most likely daytime outside.

"Alexia?!" came a rather agitated sounding Genevieve, "Alexia?! The ship is under Thuggee attack! Get up and arm yourself!"

That got her attention. She jumped out of bed, and she quickly realized that she couldn't really defend herself in her naked state. Grabbing her robe discarded on the floor near the wall, she threw it on and sashed it up as best she could. Then she grabbed her sun-downer revolver with her primary hand, and then tucked her umbrella under the same arm so she could operate the doorknob with the other hand.

Opening the door, she was nearly knocked back when Genevieve rushed in and hugged her rather tightly, pinning her arms in the process. Her parasol was pinned between, propped up against the French inventor's shoulder. The scent of vanilla coming from Genevieve's jumpsuit was almost overwhelming.

"Thank goodness you're alright," she said quickly.

"Of course I am," replied Alexia evenly, "though I might not be if you don't let go of me."

Genevieve backed off as quickly as she had advanced as she replied, "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright," answered Alexia, "Don't worry about it."

"Thank you," she replied with relief in her voice, "but how did the Thuggee get aboard. They couldn't have been hiding aboard already, could they?"

"No," she answered, "They came using a Mediterranean pirate ship as a transport. Indrani and Rajani have already grabbed their weapons and have gone to repel the pirates as well as the Thuggee."

"I hope they are alright."

"If anyone can look after themselves, it's those two."

"I suppose you're right."

"What about Conall?"

"I take it that it's daytime outside?"

"Oui, but what difference does..."

"Let him sleep then," replied Alexia evenly, "He fears going mad from returning his Alpha werewolf's powers, so the less he uses them, the better things will be."

"Won't he be angry, letting you take risks for him?"

"I'm sure he'll be as mad as a wet hen, but I'm willing to deal with that later. Let's go support my half-sisters, shall we?"

Genevieve nodded quickly as Alexia moved past her. She quickly closed the door behind so that the somewhat distant sounds of battle wouldn't awaken her husband. Then she locked the door with her room key to keep unwanted visitors out, though Conall could easily unlock the door from the inside if he so choose.

She then came across the first pair of bodies outside of Indrani and Rajani's room. One was beheaded as well as cut into a few additional pieces by something sharp that she assumed was the great tulwars of Rajani. The second was clawed in at least three places, as well as having his throat ripped out. It seemed as if Indrani was in her tigress form rather than try to use her bow in the ship's corridors.

There were scimitars discarded at the sides of the attackers, neither blade stained with blood or anything else Alexia might recognize.

Once in the corridor, Alexia moved her umbrella to her off hand so she could focus on the sun-downer revolver in her primary hand. Genevieve stayed just behind, standing just off to Alexia's right hand side. While not obviously armed, Alexia was sure that Genevieve had some sort of weapon either in hand, or in the pocket of her jumpsuit.

The sounds of battle seemed distant no matter how quickly they moved down the corridor. Mangled bodies of their attackers seemed to indicate that the two half-sisters of Alexia had matters well in hand. Alexia seemed relieved that she might not even have to put herself in any danger until they came to the ship's galley. Seeing the two half-sisters outnumbered about ten to two apparently put that notion well out of her head. But the four dead Thuggee around them shown that the odds had been stacked even more against them a moment earlier.

Mixed with the dead attackers were a few more mangled remains that Alexia could only take as some of the crew members most likely slaughtered while eating their lunch. The remains of which were scattered about the table somewhat disturbed.

Indrani's Rakshasi form was cut in a few places in spite of her hide and thick muscles, as the black blood running down her sides and legs attested. However, the cuts seemed shallow and the blood was coming out fairly slowly. The injuries didn't seem to bother her much either, at least not in such a life and death situation. It seemed natural that her tigress form was unclothed. She was used to that from the transformed state of werewolves.

Rajani also bore some cuts along her arms (all six) as well as her legs. The cuts also seemed fairly shallow, although they did show that she also bled black blood. It showed as much as her blue skin the fact that she was only partly human and part Rakshasi. It was more surprising that Rajani was all but naked as well, with but a pair of white cotton panties offering any modest coverings at all.

Alexia had forgotten which bullets her husband had loaded into her revolver, but she was sure it would be effective against normal humans as much as it was against either the vampires or werewolves that they were intended to kill. Simply simply opened fire on the closest attacker.

"Be careful," she called back to Genevieve as her revolver spit out its bullets with characteristic flash, fury and smoke. The closest Thuggee staggered and fell as two bullets pierced the left side of his chest about where his heart should be. Not even evidence to tell if she had fired the wooden or silver bullets into him.

The black fanged red eyed tigress knocked down the Thuggee closest to her as she sunk her fangs into the back of his neck and partially ripped out his spine.

With scissoring slashes, Rajani managed to chop of the arms of her closest attacker as well as chop in half at the waist.

In a move that almost surprised her, the next Thuggee turned at threw his scimitar right at Alexia. But with years of combat situations under belt, she sidestepped the flying blade as it flew by her. The was an off sound as the blade bit into the door behind her, but she didn't have time to look back.

Alexia could tell that the attackers were bolstered by some kind of drug, judging by how well they were facing the slaughter that was being mounted against them. Drugs could make one fearless if not foolish, for the invincibility they offered was only an illusion. She illustrated by shooting the man who threw his blade at her twice in the forehead. Drugs or not, he was dead by the time he hit the floor.

It was then that Alexia saw something that made her blink in disbelief. Somehow, Rajani had sprout an extra two pairs of arms. She had only seen wood carvings of such a thing from one of her father's books on (Hindi) mythology. In this form, she truly looked like Kali, the killer of worlds and the slayer of time. Although in the wood carving, Kali was using smaller blades and other odds and sods (like a torch) that were more suited to one handed use. She used her extra arms to sweep up the ship's chairs, brandishing them like they were wooden shields.

The tigress hit the next attacker from the front, her teeth sinking right into his throat as she tore it out, the severed jugulars spraying blood everywhere around him. She seemed oblivious to the blood that was staining her fur and hide crimson. He would be all but finished in a matter of seconds by way of his massive blood loss.

Rajani's next set of scissoring slashes removed both the attacker's arms and head in a terrifyingly beautiful set of almost ballet like dance steps. The fluidity and grace of the way she killed showed why the Thuggee may well have treated her like a threat for so many years. She was quite practiced in the arts of killing if not slaughter.

Alexia was also becoming more practiced in the arts of shooting and killing. Of her last two shots, one landed in the attacker's throat, making him move just enough for the last round to take his head in the left temple. She then took a step back to open the revolver, expel the spent shells, and suddenly realize that she had no more bullets with her.

Being practically minded, she simply picked up the nearest silverware from the dining table and threw it at the nearest attacker. As expected, it did no real damage other than to distract the man from the real threats in the room: The tigress and the Daeva.

But there were still four attackers left, and they were still both fearless and unrelenting in their assault, no matter how futile it appeared to be. The resistance, however, proved to be futile in the end. The tigress and the Daeva cut the down without mercy, which would have been as much mercy as they would have been shown if they were winning.

Alexia turned back to see how Genevieve was doing, who was oddly quiet. The sight made her turn pale as she screamed, "_**GENEVIEVE**_!"

(to be continued)


	8. Chapter 8

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Ravani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER EIGHT

in which Genevieve is converted...

Much to Alexia's dismay, she turned to find the woman who had finally gained the courage to confess her feelings of amour for her nailed to the door through the abdomen by the thrown scimitar she had just dodged. Genevieve was staring back into her eyes, her face frozen in pain and wide-eyed disbelief. Her blood was leaking badly around the wound through her body because the scimitar was curved, and was thicker towards the end than it was near the hilt.

"Alexia, je crains que je suis mort", she said quietly.

"What?" replied Alexia, "You know I barely know any French."

Genevieve responded by coughing up blood.

"She is dying and she knows it," interrupted Indrani, who had shifted back to human form behind Alexia, "Honestly."

"No!" cried Alexia, "You can't give up on me now! I won't let you! I'll get Conall to make you into a werewolf! I swear I won't let you die! I swear you won't become a ghost!"

The now naked Indrani came forward and examined the wound.

"Don't just stand there," she pleaded, "pull it out already."

"She is bleeding bad enough now," replied the now small seeming woman, "If I pull the blade as she is, she will be dead in less than a minute. As it is, she may well last 5 minutes tops. I swear."

"I can't get Conall back here that fast."

"As I an seeing it, you have three choices. Touch her as I pull the blade, making her bleed out and die with no chance of becoming a ghost, let her die and hope she doesn't become a ghost, or I begin to change her into a Rakshasi right now. I swear. The process is not as... random... as conversations into werewolves or vampires..." She seemed to struggle for the right words at the end.

"But she's female," said Alexia, "The chance of success is..."

"That doesn't matter," said Indrani, "There are almost as many Rakshasi as there are Rakshasa. There is no special problem for converting women. Genevieve is in no condition to choose for herself. Only you have the time to make that choice for her."

"I know it's selfish of me," said Alexia evenly, "but I can't lose her now. Change her."

Indrani grew a foot larger as her head turned into that of a tigress. Alexia felt herself grabbed by several arms and turned away into the chest of Rajani just as the jaws of the tigress opened and aimed its black fangs at the neck of Genevieve. She could feel fingers stuck into her ears as she was buried face first into the bosom of Rajani. The other arms, at least four pair in number, hugged Alexia and pinned her arms down at her side.

Even with her ears plugged, she could hear the screaming of Genevieve. Alexia struggled with all of her might against Rajani, but she was too strong even with her powers neutralized by contact with the preternatural. There was a metallic clatter at one point that was most likely the scimitar falling to the floor. As the minutes dragged by, seeming like hours, the screams grew fainter and slower. Then they finally stopped all together.

"It is all right for her to look now," said Indrani, "I swear."

Alexia was turned about as the fingers were pulled from her ears, although there were still two pairs of arms hugging her and keeping her pinned against the Daeva. Indrani was fully human, but there was a new tigress laying on the floor. Even though she was in a pool of her own blood, the wound in her abdomen was no longer apparent. Her eyes were closed as was her mouth, but even then Alexia could see the points of her black fanged teeth. Just as Indrani seemed so small compared to her tigress form, the new tigress form of Genevieve seemed so much larger than her human form.

"She is Rakshai now, I swear. She will live and recover momentarily. Honestly."

"Please let me go," begged Alexia as she looked over her shoulder into the face of Rajani.

"Not yet," advised Indrani, "We must make sure the change is complete before your negative touch attempts to neutralize her powers. It will be alright, I swear."

The new tigress lay on the floor, breathing heavily as it's chest rose and fell. Time still seemed to pass painfully slowly.

"Now?" asked Alexia, "Please?"

Indrani nodded.

Alexia was released by Rajani. Her knees turned to jelly as she was released, causing her to fall onto the new tigress. She landed on the chest of the new creature and wrapped her arms about its neck. "I love you," she said energetically, "Don't leave me now. You can't let our new love die so soon."

The tigress opened one eye to gaze at Alexia. The eye was blood red, and the whites of the eyes had indeed turned black as night. She put her massive leg and paw around Alexia's back. With the paws kept in, the pads felt soft. But then the preternatural touch took effect. Soon, the massive tigress was once again the now frail seeming Genevieve. It was then that Alexia realized that the jumpsuit was burst and shredded during the change, as Genevieve was quite naked once more.

Alexia wrapped her arms about her, hugging her close to her bosom. "Je t'aime aussi, Alexia", she replied more quietly, as if it were only meant for Alexia's ears alone.

There was an awkward pause before Genevieve clarified her statement in English, "I love you too, Alexia."

Alexia was at a loss for words, so she simply hugged the French woman tighter and buried her face in her short, and yet flowing mane of hair.

"Alexia!" roared Conall from somewhere nearby, "Where are you woman?! I swear if you're dead, I'll kill you, wife!"

Alexia was too choked up to reply, so Indrani called back, "Fear not! She is safe and sound! I swear!"

Conall thundered into the room wearing naught but a towel girding his loins. In his haste to hug Alexia, his great arms engulfed Genevieve as well.

"Wife, I was worried about you!" he growled, "I awoke to the din of battle and a ship full of the dead! Ya were nowhere to be seen! Why did ye run off without me?!"

Alexia looked into his eyes without a word.

"What, wife?" he replied deeply, "Spit it out already!"

"Genevieve nearly died," replied Indrani, "I had to change her into a Rakshasi to live. There just wasn't enough time to get you, I swear."

Conall looked at Genevieve as if he just realized she was there.

"Darn," muttered Conall, "She would have made a fine werewolf bitch."

"By 'bitch', you mean 'female dog' right?" Alexia had finally found her voice.

"Of course," he answered, "What else would I mean?"

"Of course," she replied, indicating she was going to change the subject, "But you didn't have to worry about me. My half-sisters seem quite capable of looking after me."

"Still," he grumbled, "I don't like leaving your welfare to others. Not those I can't implicitly trust, anyways."

"I feel I can trust them with my life," she replied evenly.

"Well," he mused, "You always were the more rational of us two. If you trust them with your life, I suppose I should as well."

"We better see if there's enough crew left to run the ship."

He, however, was looking about the carnage when he spotted something. "When did our little blue lass gain two more pairs of arms?" he asked curiously.

Rajani shrugged.

"It happens now and then," replied Indrani, "She was born with two pairs of arms, gained another pair when she was about 12, and now has grown another two pair. I don't know why, but I do know she never seems to lose arms once she gains them. She now has as many arms as Kali."

"I see."

"Little is known about her condition. She is the first true Daeva born in a thousand years. The sacred texts from that time have been mostly lost. Honestly."

"Curious, isn't it?"

"Yes," replied Indrani, "even to us."

"Will you ever tell us why she never talks?"

"We don't know the reason for that either," replied Indrani, "Honestly. She never makes a sound, but we are pretty sure her vocal cord are unharmed. As far as I know, she has never even cried out."

"Husband," sighed Alexia, "You're holding me a bit tightly. It's a little hard to breath like this. I'm sure Genevieve would like to breath too."

"Oh, sorry woman," he replied as he relaxed his grip. Alexia and Genevieve both drew in a deep breath as soon as he did so.

Indrani stepped up and placed her hand upon Genevieve's shoulder. "Do not fret," she said calmly, "I shall teach you what it means to be a Rakshasi. It will take a few months to learn all that our kind can do. As your... mother... I will take as long as I must to train you. You have a very long life ahead of you to truly master your powers. Honestly. I could sense your excess soul as soon as I bit you. You have very much potential."

But Genevieve seemed distant as she mused, "That was my favorite jumpsuit."

"Genevieve," scolded Alexia, "She saved your life."

"Hmm?" she asked as she snapped back to Alexia's gaze, "Yes, I suppose that's true."

"Blame me if you must. I was... too selfish to let you go."

"I don't blame anyone. It's just a bit much to take in all at once."

Genevieve shakily stood up, causing Alexia to support her around the waist.

"She is needing of rest," said Indrani, "We should get her to bed at once. I should remain with her... as a sign of support and comfort."

"I have to stay with her too," offered Alexia.

"So I get to sleep by myself, wife?"

"Perhaps Rajani would be interested..."

"_You know you're the only one for me, woman_!" scolded Conall, but the paused to add, "Are you teasing me again, wife?"

Alexia just nodded and smiled.

"This is getting to be a habit for you, isn't it wife?"

She shrugged.

"Besides, I fully well know that lass is part of _your_ harem."

"Yes Rajani," said Indrani, "Our cabin would be best for this. Please carry Genevieve there."

"But I can..." interrupted Alexia.

"No," she counter interrupted, "You have touched her long enough for now. She needs time for her natural abilities to fully take over and... put her body into shape."

Genevieve and Alexia kept their hands together as the now ten-armed Daeva picked the French woman off the floor, but allowed their hands to separate when Rajani turned away from them.

"Yes, half-sister," added Indrani, "I am fully aware that... _EEK_!" She covered her breasts with one arm, her loins with the other, and dashed off towards their cabin. Rajani simply smiled as she strode after her streaking half-sister.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a wicked woman," smirked Alexia.

She glanced over her shoulder to give Alexia a fanged grin. There was an unshakable feeling that those piercing red eyes were trying to tell her something.

"Of course I'm right behind you," answered Alexia on impulse, "Wait, did I just understand you?"

Rajani nodded.

"I guess our common blood must be taking hold."

Rajani nodded again.

...

Lord Akaldama continued his preparations to interview Indian woman for a position in his household. His dandies were moving about town, spreading word that a Hindi woman might be hired by someone as affluent and powerful as the Potentate of all English vampires. There hardly seemed to be a limit to the number of potential candidates, even with the requirement that they be bilingual in both the English and Hindi languages.

Of course, he was aware that this was mainly due to the fact many Hindi were fleeing southern India because of a famine raging across the country. They were seeking a better life near the heart of the British Empire. They wanted a real job, but he also knew that many of them would more likely be stuck at really menial jobs if not walking the streets to turn tricks.

All he had to do was set the date of the first interviews, and the candidates would come pouring in. It would be a fairly simple matter to figure out which of the women would have the greatest information if not contacts with the Thuggee cults back home.

He just had to make sure that Prudence was safely hidden in another part of the house while the interviews were taking place. It was unlikely that they would use a woman as an agent, but on the other hand, they might just use one as a distraction. It was tradition for a male member of the family to escort an unmarried woman, especially to the house of a strange man.

As a mental note, he made sure that there would be enough of his own men around to make sure that no one was going to slip away and run the house unescorted, especially if they are armed.

His senses told him that Eustace was standing in the doorway waiting an audience.

"Yes, sweet Eustace?"

"The interviews have been prepared, my Lord. I've taken the liberty of setting the first sessions two days from now."

"Excellent, now I need to tend to Prudence and her lessons."

"Of course, my Lord."


	9. Chapter 9

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Rajani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER NINE

in which Alexia and friends arrive in England (at last)

The days seemed to pass by too quickly for Alexia's tastes. Since Indrani limited her contact with Genevieve, she had to savor every chance she had to touch the French woman. Most of the time, she was mainly alone with Indrani, and Rajani to a lesser extent. The rumble and growl of tigresses from inside the room, as well as the sound of rather large cats pacing about, assured Alexia that Genevieve was learning the ropes of her new form... her new life. A life that she very much wanted to be a part of.

When Rajani wasn't with Genevieve and Indrani, she was close to Alexia. When she looked into her eyes, Alexia had the feeling that she was understanding more and more about what the Daeva was trying to tell her with her piercing red eyes. It was a vague feeling at first, but then evolved into flashes of pictures, then continuing into the impressions of thoughts and sentences.

But when she came into Alexia's and Conall's room at night wearing naught but a smile, it didn't take any deep translation to know what that meant. Lord Conall seemed to be a little too accepting of the arrangement for her tastes, but then she knew she could call off the whole thing at any time. Perhaps he might even be just a little bit jealous of her apparently ever expanding harem. He even let Rajani impress him with her ability to strip his wife even faster than he could, but it was difficult for his two hands to compete with her ten.

But when those ten hands played over her body so skillfully, Alexia just couldn't say no. Every touch and caress seemed to have the greatest of effects on Alexia's body. She kept Alexia's head turned aside as she nibbled at Alexia's supple throat. Rajani sat behind her with her back against the head of the bed and Alexia's back cushioned against her bosom so that Conall always had the best view of his wife and her assets.

He just couldn't say no to the chance to see his wife so worked up (almost for his entertainment alone). The sight of his wife being teased nearly at every sensitive point at the same time was a great turn on for him. Her nipples were hard, her sex was hot and wet, her clit was erect and throbbing, and she had all of the other signs of arousal as well: The dilated eyes, the quickened heartbeat, the sweating, the panting and gasping.

And by the time Alexia experienced her first orgasm, he was more than ready to move in and perform his marital duties to her. She felt a little cramped at times when she was between the two of them, with the ten-handed Daeva teasing her from the waist up, and her husband serving her from the waist down. With her legs over his shoulders, he tended to lean forwards until her knees were nearly driven back into her own shoulders. He wanted to use the full length of his manly tool to its greatest effect.

Rajani continued to use one finger to tease Alexia's clit while her husband mated with Alexia. It didn't take long for Alexia to climax again shortly after Conall. In spite of the troubles of her first pregnancy, he didn't pull out. She didn't seem to protest.

By the time he was up to his second climax and her third, the two were worn out from their ecstasy. While Rajani seemed eager enough to continue, the Maccons were ready to call it quits. Connal simply rolled over to his side of the bed and fell asleep. Alexia, on the other hand, turned to her side and rested her head comfortably in the space between Rajani's pillowing breasts. Comforted and assured by ten strong hands, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Between the two of them, Alexia was never left wanting or unsatisfied. Neither was her husband. It seemed like the only one who didn't get her share of attention was Rajani, and she seemed to like it that way. She seemed to ride along on Alexia's pleasure as if it were her own.

On about the fourth day or so, Alexia did not wake up in her own bed. When she opened her eyes, she was looking into the peacefully sleeping face of Genevieve. She noticed that Indrani was just past her, and suspected that the one behind her was Rajani. She could almost feel those piercing red eyes boring their way into the back of her head.

The two were facing each other, uncovered by sheets and blankets. It almost seemed natural now to see Genevieve naked before her.

She got the impression of a message from Rajani. 'Touch her,' it said, 'Caress her. Let Miss Lefoux know that you love her. Let her wake up to your kiss and embrace, She is strong enough to endure your touch now.'

'She looks so peaceful,' thought Alexia, 'It's almost a shame to wake her. How could she not know that I love her now?'

'Never assume that love is known, because when you assume that love is there, then that is the moment that it begins to wither and die.'

'You're right,' thought Alexia, 'You seem to be so wise for your age.'

Rajani responded by leaning closer and nibbling at her supple throat.

'Alright, but if she's upset, you get to deal with her.' She leaned closer to wrap her arms about the waist of Genevieve, and planted her lips against those of her French love. Pulling her closer, their bosoms came together as she pinned down Genevieve's arms to her sides. Their lips locked first, and then Genevieve opened her mouth in a soft moan as Alexia slipped her tongue through the teeth and into the mouth.

Judging by her responses, Alexia deduced that Genevieve had awakened. She took that moment to back off and let her respond.

"Alexia?"

"Yes?"

"Am I dreaming this?"

"If you are, we must be having this dream together," mused Alexia.

"Ce doit être deam belle époque."

"I still don't speak French that well."

"I must be awake then," mused Genevieve, "You understand French perfectly well in my dreams."

"That must be convenient."

"It is."

"Someone thinks I should not assume that you know I love you."

"That seems rather wise. Did Indrani tell you that?"

"No, it was Rajani."

"Did Indrani tell you her half-sister's thoughts?"

"No, I think I'm understanding her myself now."

"Then you two must be bonding. A shared bond by your common father."

"I guess so," mused Alexia.

Genevieve blushed as she felt Rajani reach around Alexia, taking her hands and placing them over her motherly breasts so that Alexia's nipples were squarely centered in the palms of Genevieve's hands. She couldn't hemp but squeeze the mass of those breasts and rub the soft nipples.

"Do you know I love you?"

"Tell me a few more times, my love," purred Genevieve.

"I will tell you as many times as you want: I love you. Those words shall flow from my lips until you are sick of hearing it."

"Perhaps in twenty or thirty years," mused Genevieve.

"Then _I love you_," said Alexia softly as she kissed Genevieve's neck, "_I love you_." She kissed her neck again and added, "_I love you_."

"And I feel you mean it," purred Genevieve back, "Don't let anyone tell you that you can't feel love without a soul. I know it can't be true."

Alexia had stopped speaking. She was now too busy kissing Genevieve's neck. Her nipples grew firmer as Genevieve's hands caressed them. Rajani's ten hands played over both of their upper bodies, making them both feel caressed and loved.

Indrani awoke to the tangled mess of love before her, and felt somewhat left out. So she quietly slipped out of bed while the other three played with each other. Genevieve's lessons could wait until later.

...

At dinner that evening, the Captain announced that they would stop in the morning at Margate, one of the first ports outside the mouth of the River Thames. The stop would be brief, coming in on the morning tide and leaving on the evening tide. A few people would be disembarking in Margate, but he doubted that more than one or two would board for the trip up the river eventually to London itself.

But the group talked more about their plans for London rather then their plans for Margate. Alexia argued that they move back to their old house next to Akaldama's. Conall suggested that they go to his old office with BUR to gain their assistance from his old office allies. Genevieve suggested that they go back to her old lab underneath her hat shop. Indrani and Rajani both sat quietly (which was quite normal for Rajani, of course) while the other put forth their ideas.

"Our first priority should be Prudence, shouldn't it?" asked Alexia, "How could we not go see how she's doing with Akaldama? I'm sure that he must have some idea of what's happening with the Thuggee now in London, don't you think? I'm sure that BUR has their hands full of werewolves and vampires to worry about what a gang might to do Prudence, after all."

"That's true," mused Conall, "but my friends at BUR still have connections to the Queen and the Shadow Council. They still could help us with this matter of national importance."

"I need things from my lab to help make sure my walker is in prime condition," argued Genevieve, "In case the Thuggee attack and we need the firepower."

"Perhaps the wisest course is to split up once we get to London," suggested Indrani, "Conall can go to this BUR Office, I can escort Alexia to the house of this Akaldama, and Rajani can escort Genevieve back to her lab for work on her... how do you say, sand walker?"

"Will you be alright be yourself, husband?" asked Alexia.

"I may be getting on in years," replied Conall, "But I can still look after myself. I still know my way around London, after all."

Alexia seemed to be satisfied with that answer. "Once we're done with our separate affairs, we should converge on Akaldama's house. That seems to be the most central place, and the most important place in regards to the protection of Prudence."

"Then we are all in agreement then?" asked Alexia.

Everyone nodded at her.

"Does Margate have a BUR Office?" she asked of Conall.

"I believe that they do. Why do you ask, wife?"

"You're going to need a proper cloak for London, of course, especially if you plan to change forms at any time. You might want to pick up an extra cloak for Indrani and Genevieve for the same reason."

"I see you're as practical as ever, wife."

"A cloak?" asked Indrani.

"It's the most convenient clothing for shape shifters," noted Conall, "Don't Rakshasa use similar things?"

"Not really," replied Indrani, "at least not for the more experienced among us. Perhaps that would be suitable for a learner like Genevieve. I hope not to offend you, learner."

"It doesn't bother me," she replied, "because it's true."

"But I do believe that you are ready to spend some time away from me, even if it is with my half-sister. My confidence in you goes that far, at least."

Genevieve nodded back to Indrani.

"Perhaps I should get one extra cloak for this lass as well," added Conall as he indicated towards Rajani, "it might not be completely wise ta let this ten-armed blue-skinned lass make a sight of herself in London before they're ready ta see her... especially bearing all of that steel she carries around with her." He gestured towards her six great tulwars.

"Perhaps some of my practicality is rubbing off on you, husband," mused Alexia.

"Well, you spend years with the same woman..."

"Indeed," she replied, cutting him off from saying something awkward about her.


	10. Chapter 10

**PARASOL PROTECTORATE: VICTIMLESS**

A Fanfiction Book based on the World of Gail Carriger

in which the World suffers Expansion of Possibilities

by Neoraichu

Lady Alexia Tarabotti Maccon, Lord Conall Maccon, Genevieve Lefoux, Prudence, Biffy, Professor Lyall, Lord Akaldama, vampire queen Ivy Tunstel are the rights and property of Gail Carriger. As far as I know, Indrani and Rajani are my creations. This book takes place after Book 5: TIMELESS, so there may be spoilers for those who haven't read all of the books as of yet.

CHAPTER TEN

on the night before their return to London...

Conall took his wife aside once the group had split up.

"Once I get my cloak," he said to her, "I'm going straight to London."

"Oh?" asked Alexia.

"I'll get there much faster on my own four feet than waiting for the boat to take me there."

"Why not tell the others?"

"There's no need ta make them worry."

"So they won't worry when you don't show up for the boat?"

"Well, you can tell them then. By then, I should already be well into London."

"Alright," she replied, "but I won't be held responsible for their reaction when they catch up with you."

"I've lived with you for years, I can take a little scathing criticism."

"Well I've never turned into a 600 pound Tigress on you, have I?"

"Point taken, wife," he said as he remembered his encounter with Indrani's Tigress form, "but I'm sure your preternatural touch will balance the situation again should the need arise. Just make excuses as needed. I'm sure that you're used to that from your time on the Shadow Council, no?"

"Alright, I'll cover your ass," she said with a little kiss to his cheek, "but if you get in trouble, I won't stop those Tigresses from having their way with you."

"Oh, ya shouldn't tempt me like that, woman."

"It's all about sex with you, isn't it?"

He poked her in the chest with his meaty finger as he said, "I could get all this without all the trouble, wife, but life would have been so... boring... without you. There's been plenty of women I could have picked up along the way if I just wanted a hot baby making body and not a keen mind to go with it."

"Oh, I could say the same about you."

"You haven't."

"I said I _could_ say that, not that I _actually_ said it."

"Point taken."

"Well, shoo," she said with a dramatic wave of her hands, "Get going before Rajani catches us together and tries to have another three-way with us."

"Are you trying to stop me?"

"_Maybe_..."

He paused to kiss her on the forehead, and as he turned and left, added, "Well I'm sure there's plenty of time for that once we meet back at Akaldama's place, won't there?"

"_Maybe_..."

He turned to leave.

"What about the extra cloaks?" she asked.

"I'll have them delivered to the ship, I promise. I should have enough pull left at BURR for at least that much."

"Luv you," she said, "Be careful."

He left without further comment.

...

"Well, I am sure that Conall had good reason to go ahead without us," said Indrani. She was looking over the stack of cloaks that had been delivered to the ship.

"I'm sure he thinks he does," said Alexia.

'_It seems that the Western supernaturals don't have as much faith in their females as do we_,' indicated Rajani to her two half-sisters.

"Well," mused Alexia, "female werewolves and vampires are so rare, they feel the need to protect them from all harm in spite of what abilities they might posses."

"Are not preternaturals just as rare?" asked Indrani.

"I suppose," she replied, "but we seem to be as valuable dead as alive."

"Valuable dead?"

"Yes, with preservation, our powers to neutralize the supernatural seem to stay with us," she mused, "the largest part of the whole Egyptian conspiracy with my father was about the collection of mummified preternaturals from around the world so that they could be laid in one place and begin a truly massive 'anti-supernatural' zone."

'What will happen to your body once you're gone?' inquired Rajani.

"I don't know," she replied, "I hope that my body will be cremated and the ashes spread so that I can never be used against the supernaturals around the world."

"A prudent precaution," agreed Indrani.

"When all this is done, we shall return to Egypt where Conall can finally die a human, and I know that I can spend the rest of my life with him."

"He wishes to die?"

"Yes, he doesn't want to risk the madness that takes other Alpha werewolves that live too long."

"I am glad that the Rakshasi and Rakshasa do not suffer from such problems."

"Do you have any weaknesses?"

"Weaknesses?" mused Indrani, "I suppose we overall have much smaller numbers than vampires and werewolves, even if there are about as many females as males. We are fairly geographically limited to the region of India for reasons that are unclear at this time. I suppose we have a tendency to cling to our native lands."

"I see," observed Alexia.

"It also takes us many many years to truly master our powers."

"You mean transforming into Tigers?"

"Oh, that is one of our easier to master powers. Honestly."

"Well what other powers are there?"

Indrani touched her finger to the spot where her collarbones meet, and Alexia suddenly found that she was staring at... herself. Not a mirror image, but otherwise a perfect copy. Every item of clothing and makeup she wore was present as well.

"My goodness, you've become me."

"Not exactly," replied copy Alexia/Indrani, "My touch would not neutralize supernatural powers as yours does. That ability is beyond my abilities to copy."

"But you could... for example... copy the abilities of a werewolf? A vampire?"

"In many respects, we could. We can not make werewolves or vampires while copying one... as far as I know. We haven't really gone out of our way to try it."

"I wonder if my father really understood anything about you. There was almost no notes in his library about Rakshasa."

"If he really knew what he was dealing with, I doubt he would have so casually had a daughter with my mother. While Rajani is special, she hasn't had an easy life."

Indrani effortlessly changed back.

'It wasn't so bad,' came the impression from Rajani.

"You'll never truly fit in the world of Rakshasa or the world of humans."

'As long as I have my half-sisters, I can live with it.'

"Well... I love you," said Indrani as she hugged Rajani.

Alexia couldn't say what she wanted to, so she just hugged Rajani instead. The ten armed maiden put half of her arms about each of her half sisters in return.

'We are each different and special in our own way,' she related, 'and it seems fate has finally brought us all together to help each other in our time of need.'

"I could say I really could have used a couple of half-sisters like you when I was growing up," mused Alexia, "my own sisters are... quite the handful."

"We should endeavor to meet them, then," offered Indrani.

"I'm sure that wouldn't be hard," she replied, "but I think its about time to return to the ship."

Rajani nodded.

"I hope that your husband will be all right out there on his own."

"Oh, he was looking out for himself long before I ever showed up," answered Alexia, "I'm sure one more night won't kill him. In fact, I think it will boost his confidence. We really haven't been separated from each other since we moved out to Egypt."

"I imagine you are correct."

'Perhaps you need a little attention to distract you from your worries?' offered Rajani, 'I'm sure that Genevieve and I can make you feel good for the night.'

"Oh... well..." sputtered Alexia, "You really... don't... uh... that's quite..."

'I shall make sure we are both in your room waiting for you after dinner, my love.'

"It's not as if your husband does not approve," added Indrani with a awkward blush in her cheeks, "I'm sure his sole complaint would be that he isn't here to watch."

'You're blushing, half-sister. One would almost think that you have your own attachment to Conall.'

Indrani blushed even harder as she spluttered, "Sure you are most mistaken, half-sister!"

'Am I? If I were into men, I would most assuredly be interested in a hot piece of werewolf like that.'

"He is most assuredly spoken for! I could never act with a married man! That would be so unseemly! Honestly!"

'What say you, Alexia? Do you think your husband deserves his own harem as well?'

"Well I... hadn't really... thought about..." sputtered Alexia. All she could think about was how she caught a werewolf and a Rakshasi Tigress in bed together.

Rajani seemed to be rather proud of how she could get both of her half-sisters so flustered and embarrassed without really trying.

"I was just curious about meeting a werewolf face to face!" shouted Indrani, "What you read into that is simply so... _wrong_! Honestly!"

"I'm a preternatural!" protested Alexia, "We aren't supposed to feel like this!"

'Your negative soul is not immutable,' suggested Rajani, 'No one's soul, positive or negative, can be. You just haven't really had the right sort of nurturing up to this point.'

Alexia's face was flush. She was having trouble catching her breath. She hadn't felt so since Conall converted Lady Kingair in front of her at the dining hall table. "If you keep this up,.. I swear I'm going to..." The word she didn't quite get to was 'faint'. But as consciousness slipped away, she felt herself gently grabbed by several hands before she could even feel her knees completely give way.

...

Alexia awoke to the piercing gaze of Genevieve. She had her hands on Alexia's shoulders, and several blue hands were comforting her from behind. Glancing around, she realized that they were both quite naked.

"Ah, you are awake at last. We had to make excuses why you and Conall didn't show up for the Captain's dinner. He was most disappointed, you know."

"Genevieve?" asked Alexia, "I must be dreaming this. This is some imagination I'm having."

"This is no dream, mademoiselle," she replied as one of the blue hands pinched one of Alexia's nipples to prove the point.

"Ouch," moaned Alexia, "point taken!"

"Well, perhaps it is one of my dreams," replied Genevieve wistfully, "and I hope it never ends. I've heard that Rajani made you faint dead away, and I missed it."

"That was... that was... not all the facts."

"Then you'll have to tell me all about it later," cooed Genevieve as she leaned in to nibble at Alexia's supple throat.

"Look... this is..." panted Alexia as Genevieve cupped one motherly breast in her hands, a pair of blue hands cupped the other, and she could feel two more hands lingering down between her broad hipped legs where they joined her at the torso, "I must... I have to... oh, what's the point of resistance now?.. You're just... going to have... your way with me... no matter how I protest, aren't you?"

"Qui." French for 'yes', of course.

'So just relax and go with it,' suggested Rajani.

"Do I have a choice?"

'You always have a choice. It's simply up to you if you want to exercise that choice.'

"Why can't I say no to you, Rajani? Genevieve?"

"Are you understanding your half-sister now?" asked Genevieve.

"Yes," moaned Alexia, "We have reached an... understanding of sorts."

She felt her upper leg lifted until it was 90 degrees or so to the rest of her body. Eager hand moved in to probe her sex as it grew warmer and damper from her growing arousal. She could even feel those dextrous fingertips as they began teasing out her clit from its sheath. Genevieve moved down a bit to take a nipple into her mouth as she felt the lips of Rajani take their place on her neck from behind her. The tips of the larger woman's fangs just ever so gently nipped at the skin of her neck.

"Oh you're just going to drive me crazy, aren't you?" she gasped.

"Only if we do it right," replied Genevieve as she paused from suckling Alexia's hardening nipple.

...

Indrani felt awkward. She felt embarrassed. There was a sense of guilt and shame. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about Conall. Thinking about his wolf form. She thought about what it might be like to have him mount her beast to beast, and wolf to tigress. All the while, she was hotly teasing her own sex and breasts as she did so. As she lay on her back panting, she was already up to a three-fingered cluster inside her own birth canal. Her nether lips were hot and puffy, and she could feel herself leaking onto her fingers as she teased herself. Only a thin white sheet was keeping eyes from seeing what she was doing to herself. They couldn't see her human form naked under the sheet.

The chance she might be caught like this was what kept her gasps and pants quiet. If Rajani were to catch her in the act, she would most likely never let her older sister live it down. But she couldn't help how she felt. She couldn't help that she had to... 'relieve herself'... to take care of her bodily needs. Her pants came quietly, and her moans of pleasure were without any real sound. She even had her eyes closed, although that didn't seem very believable if someone should actually happen to look into their room that she shared with Rajani.

Her half-sister spending the night with her other half-sister, Alexia, and their other harem mate, the French woman Genevieve, would hopefully allow her some time alone.

And yet Indrani had not bothered to lock the cabin door. Anyone could have just walked in at any time and caught her in the act with about a second or so of warning. Even the chance that she could have been caught in the act (the way she was caught in bed with Conall) was somewhat of a turn on for her.

Then she climaxed with a whimpering moan she could no longer contain.


End file.
